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AMONG  THE  CANNIBALS 


OF 


NEW    GUINEA: 

BEING 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  NEW  GUINEA  MISSION  OF 
THE  LONDON  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 


BY 

REV.  S.  McFARLANE,  LL.D.,  F.RG.S.,  Etc 

IV       - 


ILLUSTRATED  WITH   A  SERIES  OF  ORIGINAL   DRAWINGS   BY  AN 
ARTIST  WHO  HAS  VISITED  THE  ISLAND. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PRESBYTERIAN   BOARD   OF   PUBLICATION 

AND    SABBATH-SCHOOL  WORK, 

1334  CHESTNUT  STREET. 


A*^ 


J)Uil4-0 


**•''»••  • 


PREFACE 

TO  THE   ENGLISH    EDITION. 


The  following  pages  have  been  written  for  the  directors  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society,  as  the  first  of  a  series  of  manuals 
giving  an  account  of  the  different  missions  connected  with  the 
Society,  which  they  are  intending  to  publish. 

Before  their  wish  to  issue  such  a  manual  was  made  known  to 
me,  my  dear  friend  Mr.  Abraham  Haworth,  of  Manchester,  and 
others,  had  been  seriously  urging  me  to  write  the  story  of  the 
New  Guinea  Mission,  being  the  only  one  (as  they  said)  who 
could,  from  experience,  relate  the  interesting  story  of  those  first 
years  of  pioneer  work,  when  we  had  to  form  the  acquaintance 
and  acquire  the  language  of  the  savage  tribes,  and  establish  the 
mission,  not  only  "  in  perils  in  the  sea,  and  in  perils  by  the  hea- 
then," but  amidst  the  sickness,  suffering,  and  death  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  mission. 

Although  I  began  the  book  somewhat  reluctantly — ^knowing 
that  it  would  have  to  be  written  chiefly  at  odd  times,  whilst 
going  about  the  country  attending  missionary  meetings, — still  I 
must  confess  that  it  has  been  a  pleasing  occupation.  I  have  sim- 
ply (as  in  Writing  "The  Story  of  the  Lifu  Mission  ")  gone  back 
in  thought  and  lived  over  again  our  life  in  New  Guinea. 

It  leaves  my  hands  with  the  earnest  wish  and  prayer  that  it 
may  be  the  means  of  deepening  the  interest  and  faith  of  Chris- 
tians of  all  sections  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  the  truest  and 
greatest  of  all  enterprises — Christian  missions  to  the  heathen. 


S.  McFARLANE. 


Elmstone  Lodge, 

Bromham  Road,  Bedford, 


Mf50619 


PREFACE 

TO    THE  AMERICAN   EDITION. 


This  work  was  originally  published  by  the  London  Missionary 
Society,  and  it  is  now  republished,  with  the  consent  of  that  soci- 
ety, by  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication  and  Sabbath-School 
Work,  as  one  of  its  Missionary  Series,  The  republication  was 
undertaken  on  the  earnest  recommendation  of  the  late  venerated 
President  of  the  Presbyterian  Board,  the  Rev.  William  P.  Breed, 
D.  D. 

The  work  is  now  presented  to  the  Church  in  the  confident 
expectation  that  it  will  prove  not  only  interesting,  but  highly 
instructive,  and  also  stimulative  to  missionary  labor. 

E.  R.  CRAVEN, 
Secretary  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  P.  and  S.-S.  W, 


CONTENTS, 


*■  PACK 

The  Home  of  the  Cannibals    ..••••  7 

II. 
How  WE  Got  at  the  Cannibals       •        •        •        .        .        25 

HI. 
Exploration.     The   Opening  up  of  the  Country,  and 

THE  Progress  of  the  Mission 57 

IV. 
The  Papuan  Institute 81 

V. 

Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Cannibals       •        •        .        93 

VI. 
Savagedom  versus  Christendom  ......       129 

VII. 
Native  Agency  and  Native  Churches    .        •        •        •      137 

VIII. 
Results  :  Then  and  Now  .        .        •        •        •        •       •      149 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Pioneers  of  the  New  Guinea  Mission     . 

Dauan  Island 

Port  Moresby,  showing  Mission  Station 
Murray  Island  Mission  Premises     . 
Murray  Island,  by  Moonlight 
Dinner  Island  (Samarai),  China  Straits 
Port  Spicer,  on  the  Fly  River 


PAGE 

Frontispiece 

38 

64 

89 

120 

158 

181 


OU  are  the  first  boat,  remember !  Take 
care  and  make  fast ;  we  will  follow  and 
help  to  tow  in."  These  words  were 
uttered  by  the  son  of  an  old  cannibal, 
at  the  valedictory  meeting  held  at  Lifu, 
on  the  eve  of  our  departure  to  establish 
the  New  Guinea  Mission  ;  and  they 
were  uttered  amidst  great  enthusiasm 
The  speaker  was  describing  the  process  of  catching 
whales,  with  which  the  people  were  familiar,  as  the 
whaling  ships  came  annually  to  Lifu,  and  many  of  the 
young  men  were  employed  as  boats'  crews  during  the 
season.     He  was  one  of  the  seniors  in  the  institution 


^^*;';''    ;  AMONG   THE  CANNIBALS. 

for  the  training  of  pastors  and  pioneer  evangelists,  and 
he  was  addressing  four  of  his  fellow-students,  whom  I 
had  selected,  with  four  of  the  native  pastors,  to  be  the 
pioneers  of  our  New  Guinea  Mission.  His  father  had 
been  the  king's  orator  in  heathen  times,  whose  busi- 
ness it  was  to  address  the  multitude  on  feast  days 
and  great  occasions,  and  he  was  a  powerful  and  very 
popular  speaker.  The  son  had  inherited  some  of  his 
father's  fire,  and  was  turning  it  to  better  account.  He 
drew  a  graphic  picture  of  the  mode  of  whale  catching 
— sighting  the  whale — the  chase — the  harpooning, 
requiring  a  steady  aim  and  strong  arm  in  order  to 
"make  fast,"  then  the  assembling  of  the  boats  to 
assist  in  towing  in  the  monster.  "  Now,"  he  said, 
turning  to  the  pioneers,  "  New  Guinea  is  the  whale. 
It  is  sighted.  We  are  going  to  chase  it.  You  are  the 
first  boat,  remember.  Take  care  and  make  fast ;  and 
we  will  follow  and  help  to  tow  in.  The  consequences 
of  any  mismanagement  on  your  part  may  be  very 
serious.  You  may  only  wound  and  irritate  the  whale, 
and  drive  it  away."  Here  he  spoke  most  earnestly 
and  pointedly  about  the  importance  of  their  living  the 
Christian  life  before  the  natives  of  New  Guinea  ;  only 
by  such  means  could  they  reasonably  hope  to  inake 
fast.  If  their  conduct  was  bad,  they  would  throw  the 
harpoon  (preach)  in  vain.  His  speech  produced  a 
great  impression.  Others  followed  in  the  same  strain, 
until  the  meeting  became  one  of  the  longest  and  most 
enthusiastic  we  ever  had  at  Lifu. 

The  crowded  and  well-dressed  assembly,  the  eight 
teachers  being  consecrated  to  foreign  missionary  work, 
the  spacious  and  substantial  stone  chapel,  the  ani- 
mated speakers,  and  the  attentive  hearers,  presented  a 


THEIR  HOME.  9 

thrilling  scene.  Not  many  years  before  they  had  wor- 
shipped in  a  house,  near  the  one  in  which  they  were 
assembled,  made  of  poles,  string,  and  grass.  They 
had  but  few  articles  of  European  clothing  amongst 
them,  and  were  a  sad,  yet  interesting,  and  in  some 
respects  very  ludicrous  sight.  Now  they  were  met 
together  to  send  forth  missionaries  from  amongst  their 
own  people  to  other  and  distant  heathen  lands.  What 
but  the  gospel  could  have  produced  such  an  astonish- 
ing change  in  twelve  years  ? 

The  glory  of  our  South  Sea  mission  has  been  that 
when  the  natives  of  an  island  have  received  the  gospel 
and  felt  its  power,  they  have  offered  themselves  as 
missionaries  to  carry  the  good  news  to  the  heathen 
beyond  ;  thus  our  Lifu  and  Mare  converts  became  the 
pioneers  of  the  New  Guinea  Mission,  and  the  meeting 
to  which  I  have  referred  was  the  beginning  of  their 
foreign  mission  work.  As  therefore  the  New  Guinea 
Mission  is  but  the  extension  of  our  Loyalty  Islands 
mission,  I  must  take  you  to  Lifu  before  going  to  New 
Guinea. 

The  voyage  is  much  pleasanter  and  quicker  now 
than  it  was  when  I  went  there  thirty  years  ago.  It 
took  us  eight  months  to  reach  our  station  in  those 
days,  but  it  may  be  done  now  in  a  less  number  of 
weeks.  I  have  a  lively  recollection  of  the  hard  bis- 
cuit, pea  soup,  American  dried  apples,  and  cock- 
roaches, and  the  weary  tossing  in  an  over-loaded 
vessel,  with  the  water  sometimes  six  inches  deep  in 
both  cabin  and  saloon.  There  were  no  Plimsoll's 
marks  in  those  days  !  You  must  please  to  imagine 
yourselves  there  without  having  endured  the  weari- 
some voyage,  or  hard  fare,  or  any  of  those  peculiar 


io  AMONG   THE  CANNIBALS. 

feelings  which  sea-going  people  suffer  on  their  first 
voyage,  or  having  found  it  necessary  to  pay  tribute  to 
Neptune. 

It  was  a  lovely  morning  in  August  when  we  first 
landed  on  one  of  those  charming  South  Sea  islands — 
not  the  August  of  the  northern  hemisphere,  which  is 
associated  in  our  minds  with  fields  of  waving  yellow 
corn,  trees  loaded  with  apples,  pears,  plums,  and 
luscious  fruit,  purple  grapes,  and  leaves  turning 
russet  brown  ;  but  the  August  of  the  southern  tropics, 
one  of  the  coolest  months  of  the  twelve.  The  August 
of  lands  waving  with  majestic  palm  trees  and  the 
graceful,  large-leafed  banana  plants  and  ferns  ;  where 
the  sky-line  is  broken  by  the  feathery  tops  of  cocoa- 
nut  trees,  and  the  dense  jungle  is  gaudy  with  brilliant 
flowers  and  crotons,  and  where  the  lovely  orchids,  in 
all  their  bewildering  variety  of  tint  and  shape  and 
size,  excite  the  admiration  of  the  traveller,  and  the 
delight  of  the  scientific  collector. 

When  we  came  on  deck  on  that  memorable  morning, 
a  soft  breeze,  warm  as  new  milk,  was  just  beginning 
to  stir  the  air,  but  not  yet  strong  enough  to  lift  the 
pale  mist  from  the  sea,  to  which  it  was  clinging  closely. 
In  the  distance,  dim  and  indistinct,  could  be  heard  the 
lapping  of  the  waves  on  the  shore,  as  they  rolled  up 
the  broken  shells  and  coral  on  the  beach,  as  yet  in- 
visible for  the  fog.  Gradually  the  blue  overhead  be- 
came more  and  more  distinct,  and  the  gray  mist  seemed 
to  melt  away  as  the  rising  sun  began  to  exert  its  power. 
As  the  fog  rose,  we  first  saw  the  tops  of  the  adjoining 
hills,  then  the  middle  heights  and  knolls,  and,  lastly, 
the  white,  shimmering  sandy  beach.  The  sea  had  not 
a  ripple  on  its  surface* ;  it  was  smooth  as  oil.     There 


THEIR  HOME.  \t 

was  just  a  faint  heave,  in  which  the  reflection  of  the 
land  was  curved  and  bent,  but  not  broken. 

Our  vessel  was  soon  surrounded  by  canoes  filled 
with  young  cocoanuts,  bananas,  and  oranges,  coral, 
shells,  and  curios,  which  the  noisy  natives  were 
anxious  to  exchange  for  European  articles.  We  lower 
our  boat  and  pull  in  to  the  beach,  where  a  crowd  of 
natives  are  waiting  to  receive  us.  It  is  a  strange 
scene.  Instead  of  the  oak  and  the  elm  and  the 
beech,  the  majestic  yews  and  chestnuts  and  poplars, 
the  apple  and  pear  and  plum  trees  of  this  beautiful 
England,  there  rise  before  you  the  stately  palms,  the 
wide-spreading  banyan,  the  tamarind,  with  its  thick 
foliage,  and  the  mango,  with  its  abundant  wood  and 
rich  burden  of  luscious  fruit ;  orange,  banana,  and 
cocoanut  groves,  instead  of  our  stately  orchards  ;  and 
plantations  of  yams  and  sugar-cane,  melons  and 
papao  apples,  instead  of  our  waving  cornfields. 
And  instead  of  our  stone  and  brick  houses,  there 
are  grass  huts  surrounded  by  stockades,  in  the  midst 
of  rank  vegetation,  close  by  stagnant  pools  and  deadly 
swamps. 

I  must  not  dwell  on  those  first  years  of  missionary 
labour  at  Lifu.  Whilst  they  were  years  of  disappoint- 
ment, danger,  toil,  and  loneliness,  they  were  also  years 
of  great  blessing,  of  most  useful  experience,  and  of 
encouragement  and  happiness.  I  may  say  that  before 
I  had  been  six  weeks  on  the  island  I  had  travelled 
round  it  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles, visit- 
ing the  villages  and  trying  to  acquire  the  language. 
Three  months  after  our  arrival  I  began  to  preach  to 
the  people,  which  I  continued  regularly  afterwards. 

Although  there  was  plenty  of  work  for  my  sue* 


la  AMONG    THE  CANNIBALS. 

cesser  to  do  after  I  left  to  establish  the  New  Guinea 
Mission,  still  a  marvellous  change  had  taken  place 
in  those  twelve  years,  from  idolatry,  cannibalism,  and 
constant  wars,  to  the  worship  of  the  true  God,  peace- 
ful industry,  and  a  growing  education.  Schools  and 
churches  were  established  throughout  the  island,  and 
the  New  Testament  and  Psalms  translated  into  the 
language  of  the  people.  The  Teachers'  Seminary 
was  in  good  working  order,  supplying  native  teachers 
and  pastors  and  pioneer  evangelists.  European  stores 
were  established  in  different  parts  of  the  island  on 
account  of  the  rapidly  growing  trade  with  the  natives, 
and  the  people  were  not  only  paying  for  their  books 
and  providing  for  their  pastors,  but  also  making  a 
very  handsome  annual  subscription  to  the  London 
Missionary  Society,  to  help  to  send  the  gospel  to  the 
heathen  beyond.  For  many  years  I  had  in  that  mis- 
sion, as  my  devoted  colleague.  Rev.  James  Sleigh, 
who  had  been  previously  settled  as  a  Congregational 
minister,  both  in  England  and  Australia,  and  who 
rendered  good  service  in  the  Lifu  missiofi  in  the  re- 
vision of  the  New  Testament  and  the  translation  of  the 
Psalms,  besides  by  his  faithful  pastoral  work.  I  was 
succeeded  by  my  friend.  Rev.  S.  M.  Creagh,  who  left 
his  station  on  the  neighbouring  island  of  Mare  to 
take  charge  of  the  seminary  at  Lifu,  by  appointment. 
In  1870  I  was  informed  by  the  secretary  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society,  that  it  was  the  wish  of 
the  directors  that  I  should  turn  my  attention  to  New 
Guinea,  and  make  arrangements  for  commencing  a 
mission  on  this  largest,  darkest,  and  most  neglected 
island  in  the  world.  Accordingly  1  began  at  once 
to  collect  information  and  mature  plans.     There  waa 


THEIR   HOME.  ij 

very  little  known  about  New  Guinea  in  those  days, 
and  that  little  was  far  from  encouraging.  So  I  deter- 
mined to  make  a  prospecting  voyage  with  a  few  of 
our  best  natives,  to  spy  out  the  land.  1  laid  the  matter 
before  the  students,  native  pastors,  and  churches  of 
Lifu,  and  asked  for  volunteers,  giving  them  to  under- 
stand plainly  the  dangerous  character  of  the  work,  on 
account  of  the  climate  and  the  savages.  Every  native 
pastor  on  the  island  and  student  in  the  seminary 
offered  himself  for  the  work.  We'  selected  four  ex- 
perienced pastors  and  four  of  the  best  students,  and 
had  some  glorious  meetings  in  connection  with  their 
appointment  and  departure. 

I  chartered  the  John  Knox,  a  small  vessel  that  for 
many  years  had  been  owned  by  the  Presbyterian 
mission  in  the  New  Hebrides  group,  where  she  had 
done  good  work.  Although  small,  she  was  a  good 
sea  boat  ;  rather  uncomfortable  for  so  long  a  voyage, 
but  still  quite  safe. 

My  arrangements  were  all  made  when  the  John 
Williams  arrived  at  Lifu,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Murray 
on  board.  They  were  leaving  (on  account  of  health) 
the  Samoan  mission,  and  had  been  appointed  by  the 
directors  to  join  that  in  the  Loyalty  Islands.  As 
Mr.  Murray  had  had  great  experience  in  the  location 
of  pioneer  evangelists  in  the  South  Sea  islands,  1  pro- 
posed that  he  should  leave  his  wife  with  mine  at  Lifu, 
and  accompany  me  on  this  interesting  voyage  to  New 
Guinea,  and  share  the  responsibility  and  theJionour 
of  establishing  the  new  and  important  mission.  I 
was  delighted  to  find  that  he  readily  consented,  al- 
though he  decidedly  objected  to  going  in  so  small  a 
vessel  as  the  one  I  had  chartered,  which  led  to  some 
2 


14  AMONG   THE  CANNIBALS. 

alteration  in  my  plans  and  to  the  commencement  of 
the  mission  on  a  larger  scale  than  I  had  originally 
intended.  The  committee  in  Sydney  were  authorized 
to  charter  a  suitable  vessel,  and  send  it  to  us  at  Lifu. 
The  schooner  Emma  Paterson  was  engaged,  but 
never  reached  us.  She  was  wrecked  on  the  coast  of 
New  Caledonia,  on  her  way  to  Lifu.  The  crew  aban- 
doned her,  leaving  the  captain  alone  on  the  wreck, 
and  taking  with  them  a  good  supply  of  provisions 
and  spirits,  declared  their  intention  of  going  to  the 
then  newly  discovered  goldfield  at  the  north  end  of 
New  Caledonia.  A  boat  was  found  on  the  coast 
about  ten  days  after  they  had  left  the  wreck,  which 
was  half  full  of  water,  and  contained  a  human  hand 
and  foot,  and  these  are  supposed  to  be  the  remnant  of 
the  crew  of  the  Emma  Paterson.  I  arranged  with  the 
captain  of  one  of  the  South  Sea  island  traders,  who 
called  at  Lifu,  and  was  open  to  charter,  and  in  July, 
1 87 1,  we  started  for  New  Guinea. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  describe  our  feelings  as  we 
sailed  towards  that  great  land  of  cannibals,  a  land 
which,  viewed  from  a  scientific,  political,  commercial, 
or  religious  point  of  view,  possesses  an  interest  pecu- 
liarly its  own.  Whilst  empires  have  risen,  flourished, 
and  decayed  ;  whilst  Christianity,  science,  and  philo- 
sophy have  been  transforming  nations,  and  travellers 
have  been  crossing  polar  seas  and  African  deserts, 
and  astonishing  the  world  by  their  discoveries,  New 
Guinea  has  remained  the  same  :  sitting  in  the  blue, 
warm,  Southern  Ocean,  kissing  the  equator  at  the 
north  and  shaking  hands  with  Australia  in  the  south, 
bearing  on  her  bosom  magnificent  forests  and  luxu- 
riant tropical  vegetation,  yet  lifting  her  snow-capped 


THEIR  HOME,  15 

head  into  the  clear,  cold  atmosphere  17,000  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea — steaming  hot  at  the  base,  where 
the  natives  may  be  seen  in  the  cocoanut  groves  mend- 
ing their  bows  and  poisoning  their  arrows,  making  their 
bamboo  knives  and  spears,  and  revelling  in  war  and 
cannibalism  as  they  have  been  doing  for  ages,  but 
freezing  cold  at  the  summit,  where  the  foot  of  man  has 
never  disturbed  the  eternal  snows.  It  was  this  terra 
incognita  that  we  were  approaching,  with  its  primeval 
forests  and  mineral  wealth  and  savage  inhabitants. 

In  these  days,  when  so  many  have  done  what  not 
many  years  ago  was  known  as  the  "grand  tour";  when 
alligator  shooting  on  the  Nile,  lion  hunting  in  Nubia, 
or  tiger  potting  in  India  can  be  arranged  by  contract 
with  Cook's  tickets  ;  when  the  Holy  Land,  Mecca,  or 
Khiva  are  all  accessible  to  tourists  ;  when  every 
mountain  in  the  Alps  has  been  scaled,  and  even  the 
Himalayas  made  the  scene  of  mountaineering 
triumphs  ;  when  shooting  buffaloes  in  the  "  Rockies  " 
is  almost  as  common  as  potting  grouse  on  the  moors, 
— it  comes  with  a  sense  of  relief  to  visit  a  country 
really  new,  about  which  little  is  known,  a  country 
of  bond  fide  cannibals  and  genuine  savages,  where  the 
pioneer  missionary  and  explorer  truly  carries  his  life 
in  his  hand.  A  land  of  gold,  yet  a  land  where  a  string 
of  beads  will  buy  more  than  a  nugget  of  the  precious 
metal.  A  land  of  promise,  capable  of  sustaining 
millions  of  people,  in  which  however  the  natives  live 
on  yams,  bananas,  and  cocoa-nuts.  A  land  of  mighty 
cedars  and  giant  trees,  where  notwithstanding  the 
native  huts  are  made  of  sticks,  and  roofed  with 
palm  leaves.  A  land  consisting  of  millions  of  acres 
of  glorious  grass,  capable  of  fattening  multitudes  of 


16-  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS, 

cattle,  where  however  neither  flocks  nor  herds  are 
known.  A  land  of  splendid  mountains,  magnificent 
forests,  and  mighty  rivers,  but  to  us  a  land  of  heathen 
darkness,  cruelty,  cannibalism,  and  death.  We  were 
going  to  plant  the  gospel  standard  on  this,  the 
largest  island  in  the  world,  and  win  it  for  Christ ; 
and  as  the  gospel  had  worked  such  marvels  in  other 
parts  of  the  world,  we  felt  sure  that  it  would  not  fail 
in  this  home  of  the  Papuan  and  cannibal  tribes,  of 
which  I  must  now  give  some  account. 

About  370  years  ago  New  Guinea  was  discovered 
by  a  mere  accident.  There  were  in  those  days  a 
number  of  gallant  spirits  who  were  immortalising 
their  names  and  that  of  their  country  by  their 
"  glorious  exploits."  Among  these  was  Don  Jorge 
de  Meneses,  a  distinguished  Portuguese  navigator, 
who  was  proceeding  on  a  voyage  from  Malacca,  to 
dislodge  the  Spaniards  from  the  Moluccas.  The 
usual  route  home  to  which  the  Portuguese  had  been 
accustomed  was  by  the  south  of  Borneo  and  of  the 
Celebes,  and  by  the  island  of  Amboyna.  But  Don 
Jorge  thought  he  would  try  another  course,  and  so 
went  round  the  northern  end  of  Borneo,  and  being  set 
to  the  eastward  by  currents,  and  standing  afterwards 
to  the  south,  made  the  discovery  of  New  Guinea, 
where  he  landed  and  remained  a  month.  Two  years 
later,  another  Portuguese  (Alvarez  de  Saavedra) 
landed  on  its  shores ;  and  although  there  is  no  record 
of  his  having  penetrated  inland,  he  called  the  island 
by  the  high-sounding  title  of  Isla  del  Oro,  from  the 
idea  which  he  formed  of  its  abounding  in  gold.  In 
1545,  a  Spanish  mariner  named  Ynigo  Ortiz  de  Rez, 
also  voyaging  to  the  Moluccas,  sailed  250  miles  along 


THEIR  HOME.  \^ 

its  northern  coast,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  Neuva 
Guinea,  from  some  fancied  resemblance  it  bore  to 
the  Guinea  coast  on  the  west  of  Africa.^  In  1616 
Schouten  visited  the  country  in  the  Dutch  ship  Unity, 
and  discovered  one  large  and  several  smaller  vol- 
canoes.2  In  1699,  Dampier,  in  the  Roebuck,  circum- 
navigated the  island.  On  landing,  he  was  met  with 
considerable  resistance,  the  natives  using  clubs  and 
spears  and  hollow  sticks  from  which  they  threw  fire 
at  their  opponents.  In  1768,  the  French  vessels  La 
Boudeiise  and  L' Etoile,  under  the  command  of  M.  de 
Bougainville,  sailed  along  the  southern  and  eastern 
coasts.  In  1 770,  Captain  Cook  sailed  along  the  coast, 
and  confirmed  the  statement  of  its  disconnection  from 
the  continent  of  New  Holland.  There  were  several 
visitors  after  this:  amongst  others.  Captain  Edwards,  in 
the  Pandora,  in  1791  ;  Bampton,  in  1793  ;  and  Black- 
wood, in  1845  ;  but  little  or  no  further  information 
relative  to  the  place  was  given  until  Stanley,  in 
H.M.S.  Rattlesnake,  ran  along  the  coast  and  made  a 
rough  survey  of  a  portion  of  it.  Still,  although  the 
island  has  been  visited  at  various  points  by  Portu- 
guese, Spanish,  French,  Dutch,  and  English  navi- 
gators, very  little  was  known  either  of  the  country  or 
its  inhabitants,  until  after  the  establishment  of  our 
mission  there  in  187 1.     And  as  our  mission  is  divided 

^  The  name  by  which  it  was  known  in  the  Moluccas  long 
before  Europeans  knew  of  its  existence,  and  by  which  it  is  still 
known  there,  is  Tanna  Papua,  the  land  of  the  frizzly-haired 
people  ;  and  being  the  home  of  the  Papuan  race,  Papua  is  a 
more  appropriate  name  than  New  Guinea. 

-  The  names  given  by  the  early  Dutch  voyagers  to  the  two 
principal  rivers  they  discovered,  Moordenaar  or  Murderer,  and 
Doodslaager  or  Slaughter,  prove  their  intercourse  to  have  been 
anything  but  friendly. 


i8  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

into  three  districts — western,  central,  and  eastern — 
I  shall  observe  that  order  in  speaking  of  that  part  of 
the  country  which  is  the  portion  that  now  belongs  to 
Great  Britain. 

The  western  district  extends  from  the  Baxter 
River  to  Bald  Head,  comprising  nearly  the  whole  of 
the  Papuan  Gulf.  All  this  part  of  the  country  is  low, 
with  the  exception  of  a  hill  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Mabidauan  River,  lOO  feet  high,  another  about  forty 
miles  inland,  and  a  similar  one  about  twenty  miles  up 
the  Fly  River.  Although  the  land  is  generally  low,  a 
large  portion  of  it  being  under  water  during  the  rainy 
season,  the  soil  is  a  rich  alluvial,  in  some  places  ten 
feet  deep.  Up  the  Baxter  and  Fly  rivers  I  found 
the  banks  sometimes  twenty  feet  high,  the  country 
undulating,  patches  well  wooded,  others  being  covered 
with  merely  a  thick  scrub,  all  good  land  ;  and  for 
hundreds  of  miles  up  the  Fly  River  there  are  no 
natives  to  be  seen,  although  they  are  pretty  numerous 
for  the  first  hundred  miles  from  the  coast.  The 
country  abounds  in  sago  palms,  wild  nutmeg,  betel- 
nut,  banana,  and  cocoanut  trees.  The  Papuan  Gull 
is  the  most  valuable  part  of  the  English  portion  of 
the  island.  Here  lie  the  water-ways  into  the  interior 
of  this  great  country,  along  whose  fertile  banks  the 
finest  sugar-cane  may  be  cultivated,  and  on  whose 
bosom  the  immense  logs  of  valuable  timber  from  the 
magnificent  forests,  also  produce  from  the  interior, 
may  be  floated  down  to  the  sea  at  comparatively  little 
expense.  This  is  the  great  delta  of  the  country,  and 
the  easiest  way  of  reaching  the  interior,  and  must  soon 
become  the  centre  of  active  commercial  enterprise. 
It  was  in   this   district  that   our  mission  was  com- 


THEIR  HUME.  19 

menced,  and   here  we  made  our  most  valuable  geo- 
graphical discoveries. 

The  central  district  extends  from  Bald  Head  to 
Orangerie  Bay.  The  east  side  of  the  gulf  has  a  bold 
and  rocky  shore,  with  extensive  coral  reefs.  The 
peninsula  is  exceedingly  mountainous.  When  visiting 
the  hill  tribes  about  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  inland 
from  Port  Moresby,  I  was  surprised  and  disappointed 
to  find,  from  the  summit  of  a  mountain  over  2,000  feet 
high,  the  country  looking  so  mountainous.  We  were 
then  about  twenty  miles  from  Mount  Owen  Stanley, 
and  as  far  as  we  could  see,  in  every  direction,  the  hills 
seemed  to  rise  tier  upon  tier  in  the  wildest  confusion. 
The  highest  mountains  on  the  peninsula  are  Mount 
Owen  Stanley,  which  is  13,205  feet.  Mount  Suckling, 
11,226  feet,  and  Mount  Yule,  10,046  feet.  There  are 
also  many  others  of  great  altitude.  There  is  a  back 
range  of  very  lofty  mountains  running  east  and  west 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Owen  Stanley  range,  with  a 
great  deep  gorge  dividing  the  two  ranges.  The  Owen 
Stanley  range  runs  out  about  ten  miles  to  the  west  of 
Mount  Yule,  the  back  range  continuing  to  the  west  as 
far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  right  into  the  heart  of  New 
Guinea.  The  Port  Moresby  district  is  one  of  the 
healthiest  parts  of  the  peninsula,  being  a  dry,  barren 
locality  compared  with  the  country  to  the  east  and 
west.  In  the  latter  districts  there  is  more  rain,  richer 
land,  and  altogether  much  finer  and  more  fruitful 
country.  Probably  the  finest  tracts  of  land  on  the 
peninsula  are  to  be  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Yule 
Island  ;  and  the  splendid  harbour  between  that  island 
and  the  mainland  makes  Hall  Sound  the  most  valu- 
able port  on  the  peninsula,  it  being  the  one  nearest 


20  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

the  rich  country  of  the  gulf.  Yule  Island  itself  is  a 
beautiful  and  fertile  country.  I  have  visited  it  many 
times,  and  travelled  all  over  it.  M.  d'Albertis,  the 
naturalist,  lived  there  about  a  year  ;  and  we  both,  as 
well  as  others,  regarded  Hall  Sound  as  being  the  best 
place  on  the  peninsula  for  a  settlement  with  a  view 
to  govern  or  open  up  the  country. 

The  fact  of  our  having  a  mission  station  at  Port 
Moresby  has  led  to  several  expensive,  fruitless,  and 
disastrous  attempts  to  explore  the  country.  Being 
situated  about  200  miles  from  the  main  body  of  the 
island,  there  has  been,  and  always  will  be,  trouble 
about  carriers.  No  one  has  crossed  the  peninsula  yet, 
although  it  is  not  more  than  ninety  miles  broad,  and  we 
have  only  just  heard  of  a  naturalist  having  reached 
Mount  Owen  Stanley,  which  is  but  fifty  miles  from  the 
coast.  So  that  to  attempt  to  explore  the  interior  of  the 
country  from  Port  Moresby  is  a  useless  waste  of  time, 
energy,  money,  and  even  life.  A  party  might  take 
their  tent  and  supplies  in  a  boat,  and  going  by  the 
tide  up  the  Fly  or  Aird  rivers  reach,  with  comparative 
ease,  safety,  and  little  expense,  the  very  heart  of  New 
Guinea,  and  there  form  a  depot  and  commence  their 
travels.  In  the  vicinity  of  Hood  Bay  there  is  some 
good,  fertile  land,  and  the  finest  native  tribes  with 
which  we  are  acquainted  in  New  Guinea.  In  walking 
round  that  large  bay  from  Hula  to  Kerepunu,  I 
saw  the  most  extensive  and  best  made  plantations  I 
have  seen  in  the  island.  I  noticed  the  same  up  the 
rivers  on  both  sides  of  the  bay.  Aroma  is  a  thickly 
populated,  sandy  peninsula.  Entering  McFarlane 
Harbour,  sailing  across  Marshall  Lagoon,  and  up  the 
Devitt  River,  we  passed  through  many  miles  of  low, 


THEIR  HOME.  21 

swampy  country  ;  but  there  appeared  to  be  very  good 
land  beyond.  Cloudy  Bay  is  true  to  its  name,  for 
although  I  have  passed  it  many  times,  I  have  never 
seen  it  clear. 

From  Orangerie  Bay  to  East  Cape  is  the  eastern 
district.  There  is  not  much  to  tempt  a  foreigner 
(unless  he  be  a  missionary)  in  this  eastern  district. 
The  natives  are  numerous,  and  require  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  land  for  their  plantations.  There  may 
be,  and  probably  is,  mineral  wealth  amongst  the 
mountains  of  the  peninsula  ;  but  the  ore  must  be  very 
rich  to  make  it  payable,  as  the  expenses  would  be 
great.  That  gold  exists  in  New  Guinea  has  been 
long  known.  I  myself  obtained  from  the  bed  of 
the  Baxter  River  ample  proof  of  this  fact  two  years 
before  traces  of  it  were  discovered  on  the  peninsula. 
The  fact  is,  that  notwithstanding  all  the  writing  about 
it,  and  searching  for  it,  nothing  more  has  yet  been 
discovered  than  might  be  obtained  in  almost  any 
river  in  Queensland.  The  locale  of  payable  gold  has 
yet  to  be  discovered  in  New  Guinea.  That  it  is 
found  amongst  the  sand  and  mud  of  rivers  in  minute 
quantities  is  a  fact  of  little  value,  seeing  that  gold 
is  the  most  widely  distributed  of  all  metals,  and  that 
these  small  grains  may  have  travelled  hundreds  of 
miles  from  the  parent  stock.  Although  we  do  not 
know  where  payable  gold  exists  in  New  Guinea,  we 
do  know  where  there  is  fine  sugar-growing  country, 
and  plenty  of  splendid  timber,  and  suitable  places  for 
the  cultivation  of  coffee,  rice,  and  sago  ;  and  with 
these  valuable  birds  in  the  hand,  the  others  had  better 
for  a  time  be  left  in  the  bush. 

Taking  the  island  as  a  whole,  we  may  justly  regard 


22  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

it  as  one  of  the  richest  in  the  world.  It  has  its  snowy 
mountains  I7,cxx)  feet  high,  its  splendid  ranges  and 
fertile  valleys,  its  green-clad  hills  and  sunny  slopes 
and  rich  plains,  its  magnificent  forests  of  valuable 
timber  and  beautiful  birds,  its  noble  rivers  and  grand 
waterfalls,  its  flowing  streams  and  dashing  cascades, 
its  extensive  cocoanut  groves,  well-cultivated  gar- 
dens, and  numerous  wild  fruit  trees,  its  vast  alluvial 
plains  for  the  cultivation  of  sugar-cane,  its  extensive 
tracts  of  country  for  raising  cattle,  its  presumably 
great  mineral  wealth.  All  combine  to  make  it  a 
most  valuable  and  interesting  country. 

Who  knows  what  new  species  may  not  be  hidden 
in  the  interior,  remaining  traces  of  those  that  are  now 
considered  extinct  ?  And  it  is  quite  possible  that 
ancient  structures  may  be  found  similar  to  those  in 
the  Marshall  group,  which  are  supposed  to  have  been 
built  by  a  prehistoric  race  of  men,  at  a  period  when 
a  continent  connected  all  those  islands,  where  now 
the  Pacific  Ocean  rolls  between.  The  country  is 
larger  than  any  in  Europe  except  Russia.  It  is 
1,500  miles  long,  and  from  30  to  nearly  500  miles 
wide,  containing  an  area  of  303,241  square  miles, 
or,  including  the  immediately  adjoining  islands,  of 
311,958  square  miles.  Consequently  its  area  is  about 
the  same  as  the  united  area  of  the  British  Islands 
and  France,  or  of  the  British  Islands,  Italy,  Turkey, 
and  Greece.  With  the  groups  of  New'  Britain, 
Admiralty  Islands,  the  Solomon  Islands,  the  New 
Hebrides,  and  Loyalty  Islands,  all  lying  to  the  east 
and  south-east,  it  forms  that  division  of  the  islands  of 
the  Pacific  which  geographers  have  named  Meiatiesia^ 
or  black  islands,  from  the  colour  of  the  inhabitants. 


THEIR   HOME.  23 

Situated  close  to  the  equator,  and  extending  only 
eleven  degrees  south  of  it,  the  climate  of  New  Guinea 
is  hot  and  uniform,  and  the  rains  abundant,  leading 
there,  as  elsewhere  in  similar  situations,  to  the  growth 
of  a  luxuriant  forest  vegetation,  which  clothes  hill  and 
valley  with  an  ever-verdant  mantle.  Only  on  the  coasts 
nearest  to  Australia,  and  probably  influenced  by  the 
dry  winds  from  that  continent,  are  there  any  open 
or  thinly  wooded  spaces  ;  and  there  alone  do  we  find 
some  approach  to  the  Australian  type  of  vegetation 
in  the  occurrence  of  numerous  eucalypti  and  acacias. 
Everywhere  else  however,  even  in  the  extreme  south- 
east peninsula  and  adjacent  islands,  the  vegetation  is 
essentially  Malayan  ;  but  Dr.  Beccari,  who  collected 
plants  extensively  in  the  north-western  peninsula  and 
its  islands,  was  disappointed,  both  as  regards  its  variety 
and  novelty.  The  forests  of  New  Guinea  are  every- 
where grand  and  luxuriant,  rivalling  those  of  Borneo 
and  Brazil  in  the  beauty  of  their  forms  of  vegetable  life. 
The  animal  life  is  also  interesting,  although  the  mam- 
malia are  singularly  few,  and  with  the  exception  of  a 
peculiar  wild  pig  all  belong  to  the  marsupial  tribe,  or 
to  the  still  lower  monotremes  of  Australia.  Wallace 
declares  that  the  tigers,  apes,  and  buffaloes  described 
in  the  fictitious  travels  of  Captain  Lawson  would  be 
as  much  out  of  their  real  place  there  as  they  would 
be  in  the  highlands  of  Scotland.  ■  The  tracks  of  large 
animals  discovered  by  recent  travellers  are  now  known 
to  be  those  of  the  cassowary,  which,  as  far  as  we  know, 
is  the  largest  land  animal  of  New  Guinea. 

Having  now  given  some  account  of  the  kome  of 
these  cannibal  tribes,  I  must  proceed  to  describe  how 
we  got  at  them  and  how  we  found  them. 


24  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

The  country  is  interesting,  but  the  people  are 
much  more  so.  Our  primary  object  in  going  there 
was  not  that  we  might  render  it  safe  to  land  upon  its 
shores,  which  are  Hned  with  cocoanut,  banana,  sago, 
betel-nut,  fig,  wild  date,  mango,  and  other  fruit  trees ; 
it  was  not  that  we  might  open  up  the  interior,  and 
render  the  iron-wood,  ebony,  canary-wood,  cedar,  and 
other  valuable  timber,  besides  the  pepper,  ginger, 
turmeric,  and  spices,  accessible  ;  it  was  not  that  we 
might  facilitate  the  acquisition  of  birds  of  paradise, 
crown  pigeons,  parrots,  lories,  and  other  beautiful 
birds  that  dwell  in  the  dark,  tangled,  luxuriant,  and 
magnificent  forests  ;  it  was  not  that  we  might  render 
life  and  property  secure  whilst  the  miner  digs  for 
coal,  iron,  and  gold,  which  are  known  to  exist  there,  or 
whilst  the  sailor  collects  from  its  shores  the  trepang, 
pearl,  turtle-shell,  and  fish,  which  treasures  there 
abound — although  we  are  fully  persuaded  that  the 
introduction  of  Christianity  will  do  this  more  effectu- 
ally than  anything  else :  it  was  not  the  treasures  of 
the  country,  but  the  inhabitants  that  we  sought — the 
multitude  of  souls  who  have  lost  the  image  of  God, 
which  Jesus  Christ,  whose  gospel  we  are  commanded 
to  carry  to  the  very  ends  of  the  earth,  and  preach  to 
every  creature,  came  to  restore  ;  and  we  are  fully  con- 
vinced that  this  gospel  is  not  only  the  best  civilizer, 
the  best  reformer,  and  the  best  handmaid  to  science, 
but  that  it  is  the  only  way  to  eternal  life,  and  indeed 
the  only  means  of  preventing  the  natives  from  being 
s  vept  from  the  face  of  the  earth  by  the  great  tidal 
wave  of  what  we  are  pleased  to  call  "human  progress 
and  civilization." 


CANNIBALS. 

MUST  begin  by  describing  some  of 
the  peculiar  difficulties  which  we  had 
to  encounter  in  conveying  the  mes- 
sage of  the  Cross  to  these  cannibal 
tribes.  In  the  first  place,  our  cap- 
tain would  not  take  the  vessel  we 
had  chartered  within  twenty  miles 
of  the  New  Guinea  coast,  where  we 
commenced  our  mission.  It  was  an  unsurveyed  coast. 
Navigation  was  exceedingly  dangerous.  If  he  had 
lost  his  vessel,  he  would  have  lost  the  insurance;  so 
he  anchored  off  an  island  in  Torres  Straits,  twenty 
miles  from  New  Guinea,  and  positively  refused  to  go 
any  nearer.     Hence  our  first  difficulty  arose  from  the 


26  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS, 

dangerous  character  of  the  unsurveyed  coast;  rocks, 
reefs,  sand-banks,  mud-flats,  rendered  invisible  by  the 
muddy  water  poured  out  of  the  great  rivers  in  the 
Papuan  Gulf  We  were  obliged  to  leave  our  vessel 
and  take  to  the  boats. 

How  well  I  remember  that  first  sail  along  the  man- 
grove coast  of  the  island,  with  a  few  Lifu  teachers 
in  our  boat,  to  form  our  first  mission  station !  It 
was  a  day  long  to  be  remembered.  Dark  clouds 
hung  over  the  dark  land,  and  occasional  showers  and 
bursts  of  sunshine  and  sickly  heat  reminded  us  of 
the  deadly  fever  of  the  country.  Our  hearts,  like  the 
heavens,  were  ready  to  burst,  as  we  thought  of  the 
ignorance,  cruelty,  darkness,  and  death  of  the  long- 
neglected  tribes  of  the  great  island  before  us,  yet  were 
glad  that  the  time  had  at  length  arrived  for  attacking 
this  stronghold  of  heathenism.  We  knew  something 
of  the  immense  difficulties  and  dangers  before  us ;  but 
our  strength  was  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  of  hosts. 
We  were  as  David  before  the  mighty  Goliath,  but  we 
knew  what  the  smooth  stones  from  the  brook  would 
do.  We  were  simply  going  to  form  the  acquaintance  of 
these  savages,  and  leave  with  them  a  few  teachers,  who 
seemed  men  very  much  like  themselves — that  was  all. 
But  what  great  issues  depended  upon  so  insignificant 
an  event !  We  felt  that  we  were  beginning  a  work 
destined  to  change  these  people  and  their  surround- 
ings most  completely.  But  what  would  happen 
before  the  light  penetrated  the  darkness?  What 
labours,  and  prayers,  and  tears,  and  suffering,  and 
persecution,  and  wars,  and  death,  before  the  tribes 
were  won  for  Christ ! — all  of  which  have  come  to  pass 
to  an  appalling  degree      Of  the  final  result  we  had 


HOJV   WE  GOT  AT  THEM.  27 

no  doubt.  That  Christianity  would  triumph  over  the 
superstition  and  cruelty  of  those  benighted  people  we 
were  convinced.  But  how  many  of  those  in  the  boat 
would  live  to  see  it  ?  How  many  would,  ere  long, 
fall,  by  the  fever  of  the  country  or  the  spears  of  the 
savages,  was  a  painful  question.  Not  long  afterwards, 
and  not  far  from  the  village  we  visited  that  day,  the 
first  martyrs  of  the  New  Guinea  Mission  suffered,  two 
Lifu  teachers  and  their  wives  being  murdered  by  the 
ignorant  savages,  who  soon  found,  as  they  afterwards 
confessed,  that  they  had  murdered  their  best  friends, 
supposing  them  to  be  enemies.  They  have  since 
received  teachers  from  our  Papuan  Institute,  and 
embraced  Christianity,  and  are  now  living  at  peace 
among  themselves,  and  with  their  neighbours. 

Having  overcome  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  an 
unsurveyed  coast,  and  reached  the  people,  the  next 
thing  was  to  communicate  with  them.  Here  is 
another  great  difficulty  peculiar  to  New  Guinea.  In 
most  of  our  missions  in  the  South  Seas  one  language 
prevails  throughout  the  group,  where,  in  some  cases, 
there  is  a  population  of  over  one  hundred  thousand 
people,  as  in  the  Sandwich  and  Fiji  Islands.  Indeed, 
one  language  may  be  said  to  prevail  over  the  whole  of 
Eastern  Polynesia,  the  differences  being  of  a  merely 
dialectic  form  ;  whilst  those  in  Western  Polynesia,  not 
only  differ  greatly  from  Eastern  Polynesian  dialects, 
but  also  differ  from  each  other.  In  New  Guinea 
however  you  meet  with  a  different  dialect,  on  an 
average,  about  every  fifty  miles  ;  and  this  increases 
enormously  the  difficulties  of  missionary  work. 

Then  there  is  another  serious  difficulty  with  which 
we  were  unacquainted  in  the  South  Seas,  and  that  is 


28  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

the  absence  of  powerful  chiefs.  We  found  them,  as 
a  rule,  in  the  South  Seas,  despotic.  The  word  of  the 
chief  was  law,  and  a  law  against  which  there  was  no 
appeal ;  so  that  if  a  missionary  by  presents,  kindness, 
and  tact  gained  the  confidence  of  the  chief,  and 
became  his  acknowledged  friend,  he  might  move  about 
the  district  in  safety,  and  would  be  listened  to  atten- 
tively and  treated  kindly,  as  the  friend  of  the  king. 
But  in  New  Guinea  it  is  totally  different.  There  are 
no  real  chiefs,  but  simply  Jieadmen^  who  are  leaders 
in  time  of  war,  but  have  little  influence  or  power  in 
times  of  peace  beyond  their  own  families.  So  that 
in  landing  amongst  these  people  you  are  exposed  to 
the  anger,  jealousy,  or  cupidity  of  any  man  who  may 
wish  to  enrich  himself  or  to  spite  his  enemies  by  taking 
your  life  ;  and  this  is  by  no  means  a  pleasant  feeling, 
especially  if  you  happen  to  be  in  a  cannibal  district. 

Even  when  you  have  reached  the  coast  in  safety, 
and  gained  the  confidence  of  the  people,  and  acquired 
their  language,  then  you  have  to  encounter  the  sickly 
climate,  which  has  proved  fatal  to  so  many  members 
of  our  mission.  A  consideration  of  the  known,  as 
well  as  the  unknown  and  probable  difficulties,  led  me 
to  select  Darnley  Island  as  the  most  safe,  central, 
and  in  every  way  the  most  suitable  place  at  which 
to  commence  our  mission.  For  such  a  work  as  we 
were  beginning,  we  required  a  central  station,  which 
we  might  make  our  sanatorium,  city  of  refuge,  and 
educational  centre.  As  a  Scotchman,  I  remembered 
lona  and  its  history  in  connection  with  the  evangeli- 
zation of  Scotland,  and  hoped  that  Darnley  would 
prove  the  lona  of  New  Guinea.  So  that  on  leaving 
Lifu,  we  sailed  direct  for  Darnley  in  the  Papuan  Gulf, 


HOW    WE  GOT  AT  THEM.  29 

and  anchored  there  in  Treachery  Bay,  on  Saturday 
evening,  July  ist,  1871. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  state  whence  this  bay  de- 
rived its  name,  as  illustrating  the  difficulties  from 
another  quarter  with  which  the  missionaries  who  are 
commencing  a  mission  amongst  savage  tribes  have 
to  contend.  Observing  the  name  on  the  chart,  I 
turned  to  the  sailing  instructions  for  an  explanation, 
and  there  found  it  stated  that  the  natives  of  Darnley 
are  a  wild,  savage,  and  treacherous  people,  that  they 
murdered  a  boat's  crew,  and  must  not  be  trusted. 
Nothing  however  is  said  of  the  cause  of  this  massacre. 
Doubtless  nothing  was  known  of  it  by  the  writer. 
When  I  became  acquainted  with  the  people  and  their 
language,  I  asked  the  old  men  if  they  remembered  a 
vessel  calling,  and  a  boat's  crew  being  killed.  "  Oh, 
yes,"  they  said,  "  we  remember  the  event  very  well  ; 
every  man  was  killed."  Then  they  stated  the  cause^ 
which  does  not  appear  in  the  published  account.  It 
was  this.  The  captain  sent  in  two  boats  to  get  water 
at  the  only  place  on  the  island  where  there  is  watei 
throughout  the  year.  I  have  known  the  people  there 
to  be  eight  months  without  rain,  and  all  the  wells  on 
the  island  dry,  except  this  pool  in  Treachery  Bay. 
The  natives  did  not  object  to  their  filling  the  casks, 
because  there  was  plenty  for  all;  but  having  filled 
them  and  towed  them  off  to  the  ship,  a  number  of 
the  sailors  returned  with  a  bundle  of  dirty  clothes 
and  a  bar  of  soap,  and  began  washing  and  bathing 
in  the  only  drinking  water  the  natives  had.  The 
natives  very  naturally  objected ;  but  the  sailors,  think- 
ing themselves  masters  of  the  situation  on  account 
of  their  revolvers,  persisted,  and  the  consequence  was. 


30  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

as  stated  in  the  sailing  instructions,  every  one  of  that 
boat's  crew  was  murdered.  Of  course  many  of  the 
natives  were  killed,  some  during  the  affray  and 
others  by  the  revenge  party  sent  on  shore  by  the 
captain  immediately  afterwards,  who  did  all  the  mis- 
chief they  could,  both  to  the  people  and  their  houses 
and  plantations,  besides  taking  away  a  number  of 
girls  as  prisoners.^ 

Without  knowing  the  cause  of  the  massacre,  we 
judged  from  the  name  of  the  bay  that  there  must  have 
been  some  foul  play ;  and  as  we  did  not  know  the 
language  of  the  people,  nor  they  ours,  we  determined 
to  make,  if  possible,  the  impression  upon  their  minds 
that  we  were  different  from  others  who  had  called 
there.  Acts  of  kindness  are  a  language  that  people  can 
understand  all  the  world  over,  and  that  was  the  only 
language  we  were  able  to  use  in  our  first  touch  with 
these  cannibal  tribes  at  different  points  of  our  mission. 
The  first  man  upon  whom  we  tried  this  language  was 
the  leading  warrior  of  the  island,  who  is  now  the 
senior  deacon  of  the  church  there.  Soon  after  we  cast 
anchor  on  that  memorable  Saturday  evening  he  made 
his  appearance  on  the  hill,  evidently  to  reconnoitre. 

*  Many  Europeans,  in  dealing  with  savage  and  half-civilized 
tribes,  are  apt  to  place  too  much  fnith  in  their  revolvers  and 
rifles,  and  to  suppose  that  a  single  shot  will  frighten  away  the 
natives.  I  know  there  are  times  when  it  will  do  so;  indeed, 
such  times  have  occurred  in  my  own  experience,  when  to 
frighten  them  away,  and  prevent  a  collision,  in  which  much  blood 
would  have  been  shed,  was  certainly  the  most  humane  thing 
to  do.  But  I  have  seen  the  mate  of  a  vessel  holding  a  revolver 
at  the  breast  of  a  Lifu  native,  dming  the  first  year  of  my  mis- 
sionary life,  without  frightening  him  into  submission.  A  few  of 
the  native's  friends  stood  by,  and  coolly  told  the  mate,  in  broken 
English,  that  if  he  shot  the  man  they  would  kill  him  instantly. 
Had  I  not  been  there,  the  crew  of  that  boat  would  most  likely 
have  been  killed  as  the  result  of  their  injustice  and  folly. 


HOW  WE   GOT  AT  THEM.  31 

We  beckoned  to  him,  and  then  jumped  into  our  boat 
and  met  him  on  the  beach.  That  meeting,  Hke  many 
other  of  our  first  meetings  with  the  cannibals  in 
New  Guinea,  was  very  different  from  the  pictures  in 
books  and  magazines  of  the  missionary's  first  landing 
amongst  savages.  I  have  often  been  amused  at  the 
pictures  of  Moffat,  Williams,  etc.,  compared  with  my 
own  experience.  Instead  of  standing  on  the  beach  in 
a  suit  of  broadcloth  with  Bible  in  hand,  the  pioneer 
missionary  in  New  Guinea  might  be  seen  on  the 
beach  in  very  little  and  very  light  clothing,  with  an 
umbrella  in  one  hand  and  a  small  bag  in  the  other, 
containing  (not  Bibles  and  tracts,  but)  beads,  Jew's 
harps,  small  looking-glasses,  and  matches  ;  not  point- 
ing to  heaven,  giving  the  impression  that  he  is  a 
rainmaker,  but  sitting  on  a  stone  with  his  shoe  and 
stocking  off,  surrounded  by  an  admiring  crowd,  who 
are  examining  his  white  foot,  and  rolling  up  his  wet 
trousers  (he  having  waded  on  shore  from  the  boat)  to 
see  if  he  has  a  white  leg,  and  then  motioning  for  him 
to  bare  his  breast,  that  they  may  see  if  that  also  is 
white.  The  opening  and  shutting  of  an  umbrella  for 
protection  from  the  sun,  the  striking  of  a  match,  the 
ticking  and  movement  of  a  watch — these  things  cause 
great  surprise  and  delight,  and  loud  exclamations.  I 
remember  being  thus  engaged  on  one  occasion  when 
two  large  war  canoes  arrived.  We  soon  became  aware 
of  great  excitement  and  noise  in  the  village.  Suspect- 
ing that  the  new  arrivals  meant  mischief,  and  knowing 
that  our  best  plan  was,  as  a  rule,  to  keep  down 
excitement  and  appear  indifferent,  we  commenced  to 
sing  to  the  people  who  were  standing  around  us,  to 
their  great  delight.     But  I  am  afraid  we   sang  that 


32  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

hymn  as  many  are  often  sung  in  this  country,  that 
is,  without  thinking  about  the  words  we  were  uttering: 
for  the  tide  had  gone  and  left  our  boat  high  and  dry 
on  a  mud-flat,  so  that  our  eyes  were  on  our  boat, 
anxiously  watching  the  rising  tide,  and  our  ears  en- 
gaged with  the  noise  of  angry  words  and  strife  going 
on  in  the  village  close  by,  which  we  had  reason  to 
believe  was  about  ourselves,  and  which  proved  to  be 
so  ;  for  we  found  afterwards  that  the  strangers  had 
proposed  to  kill  us  and  take  our  boat  and  all  that  we 
had,  but  the  people  amongst  whom  we  had  landed 
regarded  us  as  their  guests,  and  drove  their  neighbours 
out  of  the  village.  Picture  us  however  sitting  upon  a 
log  on  the  beach,  singing,  under  these  circumstances, 
"  O'er  the  gloomy  hills  of  darkness  "  !  It  may,  at  this 
distance,  appear  a  very  poetical  situation  !  I  certainly 
did  not  consider  it  so  at  the  time.  It  was,  like  some 
other  situations  I  have  been  in  during  those  first  years 
of  pioneering  work,  a  very  unpleasant  reality. 

What  we  did,  when  we  met  this  savage  on  the 
beach  at  Darnley,  was  to  induce  him  to  enter  our 
boat  and  accompany  us  to  our  vessel,  which,  after 
a  few  friendly  demonstrations,  we  succeeded  in  doing, 
though  he  was  evidently  very  much  afraid.  We 
talked  to  him  on  board  in  a  manner  most  effectual. 
Not  knowing  the  way  to  his  heart  through  his  ear,  we 
took  the  familiar  road  through  his  stomach  by  giving 
him  a  good  dinner,  then  made  him  a  few  small 
presents,  and  sent  him  away  rejoicing,  giving  him  to 
understand,  by  signs,  that  he  was  to  return  next  morn- 
ing at  sunrise  and  bring  his  friends  with  him.  It 
would  have  been  interesting  to  know  what  was  said 
around  the  fires  in  the  cocoanut  groves   that  night 


I/O IV   WE   GOT  AT  THEM.  33 

Our  presents  would  be  handed  round  for  inspection, 
and  gazed  upon  with  longing  eyes.  They  would 
naturally  feel  that  there  were  plenty  more  where  they 
came  from,  and  the  question  would  be  hotu  to  get 
them.  On  these  occasions  some  propose  stealing,  and 
sometimes  even  suggest  murder  and  plunder.  The 
wiser  men  however  advise  barter  and  begging.  They 
have  probably  had  intercourse  with  some  foreign 
vessel,  or  have  heard  of  natives  who  have,  where 
the  murder  and  plunder  theory  has  been  tried  with 
results  far  from  encouraging.  Long  before  sunrise 
we  heard  unmistakable  evidence  of  a  crowd  having 
assembled  on  the  beach,  they  were  chattering  away 
like  cockatoos !  After  our  morning  bath  on  deck 
(one  of  the  greatest  luxuries  in  such  a  climate), 
during  which  there  were  loud  exclamations  at  our 
white  skins,  we  sent  in  the  boats  to  bring  them 
off  to  the  vessel.  This  took  some  time,  there  being 
a  large  number,  and  all  being  anxious  to  get 
on  board,  hoping,  no  doubt,  to  be  treated  like 
our  friend  the  night  before !  On  such  occasions,  in 
our  first  contact  with  savages,  we  take  the  pre- 
caution to  fasten  a  rope  across  the  after  part  of  the 
vessel,  beyond  which  we  do  not  allow  the  natives 
to  come.  Two  or  three  of  the  crew  are  stationed  in 
the  bows  of  the  vessel,  the  mate  and  remainder  stand 
behind  the  rope  in  the  after  part,  keeping  a  sharp 
lookout  on  the  crowd.  All  movable  articles,  which 
might  tempt  the  natives,  are  put  below,  and  the 
hatches  fastened.  The  way  to  and  from  the  cabin  is 
in  the  reserved  part  of  the  vessel,  which  the  natives 
are  not  allowed  to  approach  till  we  are  acquainted 
with  them.     Neglect  or  contempt  of  these  precautions 


34  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

has  often  led  to  very  serious  and  fatal  consequences. 
As  a  rule,  pioneers  should  not  allow  natives  who  are 
savages  and  cannibals  to  get  behind  them.  The 
temptation  to  a  savage  who  is  walking  behind  you 
with  a  club  or  tomahawk  on  his  shoulder  is  often  very 
great ;  he  knows  of  no  tribunal  in  heaven  or  on  earth 
to  punish  him,  and  is  often  led  to  kill,  not  from 
revenge,  but  from  sheer  ambition,  knowing  that  if  he 
is  successful  he  will  gain  both  approval  and  popularity 
from  his  countrymen. 

Imagine  then  this  crowd  of  savages  on  board  our 
vessel,  naked,  and  ornamented  with  paint,  feathers, 
and  shells  ;  all  talking  at  once,  examining  everything, 
peering  into  every  place,  pressing  against  the  rope 
which  they  are  trying  to  remove  or  surmount  in  order 
to  get  to  the  cabin,  standing  in  the  rigging  to  get  a 
better  view.  Some  of  them  falling,  or  being  pushed 
overboard  amidst  the  laughter  of  their  friends.  What 
were  we  to  do  with  such  a  congregation  on  that 
memorable  Sabbath  morning !  How  I  longed  to  be 
able  to  speak  to  them  !  All  we  could  hope  to  accom- 
plish was  to  make  a  favourable  impression  upon  their 
minds,  and  show,  by  our  conduct,  that  we  were 
different  from  others  who  had  visited  them.  To 
this  end  I  conducted  our  morning  service  in  the 
Lifu  language.  The  crew  joined  our  eight  teachers 
and  their  wives,  who  all  appeared  on  the  after  part  of 
the  deck  in  Sunday  attire.  Seven  nationalities  were 
represented,  from  the  educated  European  to  the 
debased  savage.  Every  shade  of  colour  might  be 
seen,  both  in  skin  and  dress,  from  white  to  black.  It 
was  a  strange  and  most  interesting  sight.  Never 
before  or  since  have  I  preached  to  such  an  audience. 


HOH^   WE  GOT  AT  THEM.  35 

We  sang,  to  the  astonishment  and  dehght  of  the 
savages,  "Jesus  shall  reign,"  etc. ;  and  the  hills  sent 
back  the  response  in  solemn  and  glorious  echo, 
"Jesus  shall  reign."  We  prayed  together,  good  old 
Mr.  Murray  praying  in  English,  that  God  would  direct, 
protect,  and  bless  His  servants  in  the  great  work  they 
were  beginning,  for  never  did  men  feel  more  than  we 
did  then  their  absolute  dependence  upon  Divine  help. 
I  preached  in  the  Lifuan  tongue,  that  being  the 
language  understood  by  the  majority  of  those  con- 
nected with  our  vessel.  The  savages  looked  on  in 
silence  and  wonder.  After  the  service  we  mingled 
with  them  freely,  and  took  some  of  the  leading  men 
into  the  cabin  ;  then  made  them  a  few  presents,  and 
sent  them  away,  feeling  (as  1  afterwards  found)  that 
whoever  we  were,  we  differed  from  those  who  had 
hitherto  visited  them. 

In  the  afternoon  we  visited  the  village,  where  we 
were  received  kindly,  return  presents  being  made  by 
the  people.  Of  their  houses  and  manners  and  cus- 
toms, I  shall  treat  in  another  chapter,  and  so  need 
not  do  more  here  than  state  how  we  gained  their 
confidence  and  established  the  mission.  For  three  or 
four  days  they  continued  to  visit  us  on  board,  and  we 
them  on  shore.  We  are  always  very  careful  on  these 
occasions  not  to  give  cause  of  offence.  We  never 
enter  their  sacred  places  against  their  will,  nor  ridicule 
their  superstitious  ceremonies,  nor  take  a  cocoanut  or 
banana  without  buying  it.  We  show  our  interest  in 
the  sick  and  make  presents  of  jews'  harps  and  beads 
to  the  children,  but  never  make  free  with  the  women 
or  girls,  lest  the  object  of  our  visit  should  be  mis- 
taken.    Thus,  in  a  few  days,  confidence  is  established 


36  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

to  a  very  considerable  extent,  and  the  natives,  as  a 
rule,  are  willing  to  allow  us  to  leave  native  teachers 
amongst  them.  It  was  so  at  Darnley,  and  on  the 
fourth  day  we  succeeded  in  obtaining,  by  barter,  a 
grass  hut,  in  which  the  teachers  were  to  live  until 
they  built  a  house  for  themselves.  We  knew  from 
experience  that  if  our  native  teachers  were  only 
allowed  to  live  amongst  the  people,  they  would 
very  soon,  not  only  gain  their  confidence,  but  also 
their  affection.  The  men  I  selected  to  occupy  our 
first  mission  station  were  from  Lifu.  One  of  them 
(Gucheng  by  name)  came  to  us  as  our  servant  boy 
when  we  landed  there  in  1859;  he  remained  in  our 
family  for  five  years,  then  entered  the  seminary  which 
I  established  at  Lifu  for  the  training  of  native  pastors 
and  pioneer  evangelists,  in  which  he  remained  for 
another  five  years  ;  he  then  became  the  pastor  (by 
the  choice  of  the  people)  of  a  model  village  which  I 
had  succeeded  in  getting  the  natives  to  construct,  and 
thence  proceeded  to  New  Guinea,  being  the  first  of 
the  eight  teachers  selected  as  pioneers  for  the  New 
Guinea  Mission. 

How  well  I  remember  standing  near  the  door  of 
that  grass  hut  on  the  morning  of  the  fifth  day,  when 
the  teachers'  boxes  and  bundles  had  been  landed,  and 
all  was  ready  for  us  to  start  for  the  point  on  the  New 
Guinea  coast  where  we  intended,  if  possible,  to  form 
our  next  station  !  The  teachers  did  not  know  that  I 
was  there  ;  they  were  sitting  on  their  goods,  which 
were  placed  together  in  one  corner  of  the  hut,  as 
emigrants  do  on  the  wharf  in  a  strange  land.  As  I 
approached,  I  heard  one  of  the  women  crying  most 
piteously ;  it  was  Gucheng's  wife,  who  had  been  a  girl 


HOW   WE    GOT  AT  THEM.  37 

in  my  wife's  school.  I  stood  for  a  few  minutes  outside, 
unwilling  to  intrude,  for  such  grief  seemed  to  render 
the  place  sacred.  ''  O  my  country  !  Why  did  we  leave 
our  happy  home  ?  Would  that  I  were  back  at  Lifu 
again  !  1  told  you  I  did  not  want  to  come  to  New 
Guinea !  These  people  will  kill  us  when  the  mission 
vessel  leaves,  or  they  will  steal  all  we  possess."  Then 
I  heard  her  husband,  in  tremulous  tones,  saying:  "We 
must  remember  for  what  we  have  come  here.  Not  to 
get  pearl  shell,  or  trepang,  or  any  earthly  riches,  but  to 
tell  these  people  about  the  true  God  and  the  loving 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  We  must  think  of  what  He 
suffered  for  us.  If  they  kill  us,  or  steal  our  goods, 
whatever  we  have  to  suffer,  it  will  be  very  little  com- 
pared with  what  He  suffered  for  us."  I  could  stand 
it  no  longer,  but  walked  away  till  I  recovered  myself; 
then  I  entered  the  hut,  and  talked  and  prayed  and 
wept  with  them.  Our  party  soon  joined  us,  and  when 
we  walked  down  to  the  boat,  I  need  scarcely  say  that 
we  were  all  sad  and  sorrowful ;  and  as  we  pulled  off  to 
the  ship,  and  beheld  the  weeping  little  group  on  the 
beach,  surrounded  by  naked,  noisy  savages,  one  could 
not  help  feeling  how  little  the  world  knows  of  its  truest 
heroes. 

Having  formed  our  first  station  on  an  island  that 
we  considered  the  most  suitable  for  a  sanatorium,  city 
of  refuge,  and  educational  centre  for  our  mission,  the 
next  thing  was  to  proceed  to  the  coast  of  the  main- 
land, and  begin  the  work  there.  As  all  this  part  of 
the  coast  is  low  land,  intersected  by  fresh-water  rivers 
and  salt-water  creeks,  the  rivers  having  formed  mud- 
flats and  sand-banks  for  miles  off  the  coast,  navigation 
is  (and  was  especially  so  at  that  time)  exceedingly 


38  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

dangerous.  Perceiving  the  risk,  the  captain  of  our 
vessel  (as  I  have  already  stated  on  a  previous  page) 
positively  refused  to  go  within  twenty  miles  of  the 
coast,  and  we  could  not  blame  him,  though  the  pro- 
spect of  two  or  three  days  and  nights  in  an  open  boat, 
at  such  a  place,  and  amongst  such  a  people,  was  not 
very  pleasant.  However  we  had  gone  to  do  a  certain 
work,  and  intended,  if  possible,  to  do  it ;  and  as  this 
seemed  the  only  possible  way,  we  adopted  it.  Leaving 
the  ship  and  crew  at  Warrior  Island,  we  (Mr.  Murray 
and  I,  the  native  teachers  and  their  wives,  and  a  few 
natives  in  charge  of  the  boat)  sailed  for  Dauan,  a  small 
island,  about  1,500  feet  high,  a  couple  or  three  miles 
from  the  coast,  being  the  only  high  land  near  the 
coast  in  that  part  of  New  Guinea.  The  pearl-shellers 
were,  about  that  time,  beginning  their  work  in  Torres 
Straits.  They  had  formed  a  station  at  Warrior  Island, 
where  we  left  our  vessel,  and  a  South  Sea  islander, 
who  had  been  to  Dauan,  accompanied  us  as  one  of 
our  crew.  One  of  our  great  difficulties  and  dangers, 
in  our  first  contact  with  savages,  arises  from  the  treat- 
ment which  they  have  received  from  foreigners  who 
may  have  preceded  us  ;  and  this  South  Sea  islander 
being  rather  a  notorious  character,  his  presence  and 
knowledge  of  the  island  was  a  somewhat  doubtful 
advantage  to  us. 

The  first  night  we  slept  in  the  boat,  anchored 
off  one  of  the  small,  uninhabited  islands  in  Torres 
Straits.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  we 
reached  Dauan,  anchored  our  boat  a  hundred  yards 
from  the  beach,  and  some  of  us  waded  on  shore, 
where  we  were  met  by  the  chief  and  a  few  of  his 
people.     The  women  and  children  had  all  retreated 


DAUAN   ISLAND. 


HOW  WE   GOT  AT  THEM. 


39 


to  the  bush  on  the  approach  of  the  boat,  and  the 
men  carried  spears  and  bows  and  arrows,  as  they 
generally  do,  to  be  ready  for  any  emergency.  Our 
mode  of  procedure  on  this  and  other  occasions,  when 
first  coming  in  contact  with  savages,  was  similar 
to  that  at  Darnley  ;  further  description  is  therefore 
unnecessary — presents,  tact,  forbearance,  kindness, — 
indeed,  all  may  be  summed  up  in  the  exercise  of 
common  sense,  without  which  a  man  may  be  ever 
so  pious,  and  clever,  and  self-sacrificing,  and  kindly 
disposed  towards  the  natives,  and  yet  fail  in  his 
mission. 

The  first  night  we  spent  on  shore  was  a  memorable 
one.  After  all  was  landed,  and  our  teachers  were  pre- 
paring the  supper,  Mr.  Murray  and  I  walked  along  the 
beach,  and  sat  down  by  a  creek,  with  the  great  land  of 
New  Guinea  before  us.  The  sun  had  set,  and  the  dark 
outline  of  the  land  stretched  away  on  either  side.  We 
were  alone,  for  all  the  natives  were  busy  with  their 
evening  meal.  We  sang  a  few  of  the  good  old  mis- 
sionary hymns,  and  prayed  together,  and  talked  of 
the  great  work  we  were  beginning,  with  its  probable 
consequences,  both  of  a  depressing  and  encouraging 
nature  ;  but  we  little  thought  that  we  should  live  to 
see  and  hear  of  so  many  martyrs  of  the  New  Guinea 
Mission,  most  of  them  none  the  less  martyrs  because 
they  have  been  struck  down  by  the  deadly  fever  of 
the  climate,  whilst  others  have  fallen  by  the  clubs, 
spears,  and  poison  of  the  natives. 

At  evening  prayers,  the  savages  looked  on  in  silence 
and  wonder,  and  afterwards  we  all  sang,  to  their  great 
delight.  The  houses  are  built  on  posts,  and  the  na- 
tives usually  sleep  in  a  kind  of  loft  over  the  general 


40  AMOAG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

room,  in  order  to  get  away  from  the  mosquitoes.  We 
had  secured  a  house  for  our  teachers,  and  Mr.  Murray 
and  I  slept  in  the  loft,  whilst  our  teachers  occupied 
the  general  room.  We  did  not  find  the  mosquitoes 
very  troublesome  ;  but  the  rats  were  numerous  and 
annoying,  careering  over  our  bodies,  and  displaying 
quite  an  inquisitive  turn  of  mind. 

From  Dauan  we  proceeded  to  the  Katau  River,  to 
form  our  third  and  last  station.  The  Katau  is  situ- 
ated between  the  Baxter  and  Fly  rivers,  and  is  the 
river  which  was  explored  by  the  Macleay  expedition 
a  few  years  after  we  commenced  our  mission.  There 
is  a  large  village  at  the  entrance,  on  the  main  body  of 
the  great  island,  at  the  outskirts  of  which  I  have  often 
seen  cassowaries  and  kangaroos.  We  learnt  from  the 
natives  of  Dauan  of  the  existence  of  this  village,  and 
determined  to  form  there,  if  possible,  our  first  mission 
station  on  "  New  Guinea  proper."  We  started  from 
Dauan  in  the  gray  morning,  with  a  light,  fair  wind  and 
favourable  tide.  We  had  not  proceeded  very  far  when 
I  perceived  something  hanging  before  my  face  from 
the  brim  of  my  straw  hat,  and  found  it  to  be  a  centi- 
pede 1  We  slept  in  our  clothes  in  that  "  upper  room," 
and  this  venomous  creature  must  have  got  on  to  me 
in  the  night.  I  remember  on  another  occasion,  when 
sleeping  on  board  our  mission  vessel,  the  Ellengowan^ 
raising  myself  to  turn  my  pillow,  which  is  very  plea- 
sant on  a  hot  night,  when,  to  my  great  surprise,  I 
discovered  a  scorpion  between  the  two ! 

On  arriving  at  Katau  we  found  the  natives  very 
much  excited.  The  women  and  children  had  been 
sent  away,  and  bows  and  bundles  of  arrows  collected 
and  placed  in  readiness  behind  one  of  the  long  houses. 


NO IV   WE   GOT  AT  THEM.  41 

This  was  only  very  natural  precaution,  at  which  we 
were  not  surprised,  seeing  that  we  were  strangers,  and 
knowing  that  all  strangers  are  regarded  as  enemies, 
and  the  mode, of  treating  enemies  in  cannibal  districts 
is  to  cook  and  eat  them,  the  only  fear  being  lest  the 
enemy  should  prove  too  strong  for  them,  and  they 
themselves  should  become  the  victims.  It  takes  a 
long  time  for  the  savages  to  learn  that  the  missionary 
settles  amongst  them  purely  for  their  benefit.  They 
cannot  understand  such  disinterested  motives,  and 
sometimes  for  years  are  trying  to  find  out  some  sel- 
fish reason  for  his  living  amongst  them.  I  remember 
a  captain  of  a  vessel  telling  me  at  Lifu,  after  I  had 
been  living  amongst  the  people  for  three  years,  that 
the  natives  had  been  asking  him  privately  who  and 
what  we  missionaries  were.  "  We  can  understand  you 
captains,"  they  said  ;  "  you  come  and  trade  with  us, 
and  then  return  to  your  own  country  to  sell  what  you 
get :  but  who  are  these  missionaries  ?  Have  they  done 
something  in  their  country,  that  they  dare  not  return  ?" 
They  seemed  to  regard  us  at  that  time  as  those  who 
had  been  sent  away  for  their  country's  benefit ! 

I  remember  another  amusing  instance  of  this  want  of 
confidence  in  us,  which  happened  on  the  New  Guinea 
coast.  We  were  visiting  a  part  of  the  south-east  penin- 
sula, where  the  natives  are  not  cannibals,  but  are  very 
much  afraid  of  them.  Our  vessel  was  crowded  with 
these  savages,  and  as  usual  they  were  peering  into  every 
place,  and  examining  everything.  I  noticed  a  group 
around  the  salt-beef  cask ;  they  were  talking  seriously, 
and  pointing  to  the  few  pieces  of  salt  beef  that  re- 
mained. This  group  rapidly  increased,  until  "the  har- 
ness cask"  seemed  to  become  the  centre  of  attraction. 


42  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

Suddenly  there  was  a  general  stampede.  The  natives 
were  flying  over  the  side  of  the  vessel  in  all  directions, 
and  pulling  away  with  all  their  might.  We  tried  to 
persuade  them  to  remain  on  board,  biji  the  more  we 
did  so,  the  more  anxious  they  appeared  to  get  away. 
Upon  inquiry,  we  found  that  the  pieces  of  beef  had 
puzzled  them,  and  created  the  alarm.  They  knew  of 
no  animal  to  which  they  could  belong  except  man, 
and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  we  were  cannibals  ; 
and  seeing  the  cask  nearly  empty,  they  thought  that 
our  object  was  to  replenish  it ! — hence  the  hurry  to 
leave  the  ship. 

We  introduced  the  two  teachers  and  their  wives  to 
the  people  of  Katau,  got  the  usual  permission  for 
them  to  live  amongst  the  people,  and  the  usual  pro- 
mise from  the  chief  of  protection,  and  made  the  lead- 
ing men  of  the  village  the  usual  presents,  but  felt  that 
it  would  be  wise  to  advise  the  four  teachers  to  live 
together  at  Dauan  for  a  short  time,  till  they  became 
acquainted  with  the  people  and  their  language  ;  so  the 
two  teachers  for  Katau  returned  with  us  to  Dauan. 
We  left  a  boat  with  them,  and  a  supply  of  such  things 
as  they  were  likely  to  need,  in  order  that  they  might 
visit  the  villages,  or  escape  from  them  if  necessary. 
All  being  arranged,  we  commended  them  in  prayer 
to  the  care  of  the  great  Missionary,  and  returned  to 
our  vessel  at  Warrior  Island,  to  reach  which  it  took 
us  two  days'  hard  beating  against  the  strong  trade 
wind  in  our  open  boat — a  most  disagreeable  voyage. 

We  had  still  two  of  our  eight  native  teachers  to 
locate,  our  intention  being  to  form  four  mission  sta- 
tions ;  but  an  unlooked  for  and  serious  event  occurred, 
which  led  us  to  alter  our  plans,  and  abandon,  for  a 


NOW   WE   GOT  AT   THEM.  43 

time,  the  idea  of  forming  one  at  the  mouth  of  the  Fly 
River,  as  we  intended.  Whilst  on  our  way  thither, 
we  were  met  by  a  boat,  sent  by  two  of  the  teachers 
whom  we  had  left  at  Dauan,  with  a  letter  for  me, 
from  which  we  were  surprised  and  grieved  to  learn 
that  trouble  had  arisen,  leading  two  of  our  teachers 
and  their  wives  to  escape  in  the  boat,  who  declared 
that  they  thought  the  others  were  murdered. 

This  was  startling  and  terrible  news  to  us.  We 
were  anchored  off  a  small,  uninhabited  island,  where 
all  around  seemed  blackness  and  darkness  as  we  sat 
on  deck  on  that  memorable  night.  The  sound  of  the 
wind  in  the  rigging,  like -the  strains  of  an  aeolian  harp, 
had  never  before  seemed  so  mournful,  and  the  rippling 
waters  lapping  the  sides  of  the  vessel,  with  an  occa- 
sional wave  breaking  on  the  bows,  and  murmuring 
past  in  the  stillness  of  the  night,  made  us  feel  increas- 
ingly sad  and  lonely.  When  all  had  retired,  I  paced 
the  deck,  as  I  have  often  done  since,  in  deep,  anxious, 
perplexed  thought.  This  was  our  first  great  trouble 
in  the  New  Guinea  Mission,  to  be  followed,  alas  !  by 
so  many  others.  It  had,  at  least,  one  good  result,  in 
developing  the  noble  character  of  some  of  the  men  I 
had  selected  as  pioneer  evangelists.  The  two  teachers 
whom  we  had  not  yet  located  came  to  me  as  I  sat 
alone  on  deck  that  night.  They  had  evidently  been 
thoughtfully  considering  the  whole  situation.  "We 
have  something  to  say  to  you,"  they  said,  "  Well,"  I 
replied,  "  what  is  it  ?  "  They  answered  :  "  We  know 
that  your  heart  is  very  heavy  on  account  of  the  sad 
news  that  we  have  received.  We  have  been  talk- 
ing and  praying  over  the  matter,  and  this  is  what  we 
wish  to  say.  If  we  find,  when  we  return  to  Dauan, 
4 


44  AMONG   THE  CANNIBALS. 

that  the  people  have  killed  the  teachers,  we  want  to 
take  their  places  ;  and  if  we  find  that  they  are  not 
killed,  then  we  will  take  the  place  of  the  two  who 
have  run  away  from  their  post."  This  was  a  noble 
offer,  displaying  a  truly  heroic  spirit.  Seldom  do  we 
find  instances  of  greater  devotion  and  self-sacrifice 
than  this.  The  responsibility  of  a  pioneer  missionary 
is  very  great,  when  he  has  such  a  splendid  staff  of 
native  teachers  as  we  get  from  our  South  Sea  mission, 
who  are  ready  to  go  anywhere  and  dare  anything  for 
Christ,  if  the  missionary  desires  or  approves ;  their 
very  readiness  to  face  the  deadly  fever  of  the  coun- 
try, or  its  savage,  cannibal  inhabitants,  has  often  made 
me  shrink  from  locating  them  in  some  parts  of  New 
Guinea. 

We  returned  to  Warrior  Island,  left  our  vessel  there 
as  before,  and  proceeded  to  Dauan  in  an  open  boat. 
Our  feelings  on  the  voyage,  and  especially  as  we  drew 
near  the  place,  may  be  more  easily  imagined  than 
described.  We  knew  enough  of  savages  to  feel  that 
if  our  teachers  were  murdered,  their  wives  would  most 
likely  be  spared  for  a  worse  fate.  What  we  ought  to 
do  in  that  case  was  the  question.  We  felt  that  we 
could  not  leave  them  in  the  hands  of  these  savages 
without  making  some  effort  to  save  them.  But  what 
should  the  effort  be  ?  We  might,  in  trying  to  rescue 
them,  be  the  cause  of  their  death.  It  was  indeed  an 
anxious  time,  one  amongst  a  few  others  of  the  kind 
that  stand  out  prominently  in  my  recollection  of 
those  first  years  of  pioneer  work  in  New  Guinea. 
However,  fortunately,  as  some  would  say,  providen* 
tially^  we  consider,  we  found  that  our  teachers  had  not 
been  murdered.     As  we  were  wading  from  the  boat 


HOW   WE  GOT  AT  THEM,  45 

to  the  beach,  one  of  them  made  his  appearance,  to 
our  intense  rehef.  On  my  reaching  the  beach,  the  old 
chief  who  had  received  my  present  and  promised  to 
take  caf^  of  the  teachers  clapped  me  on  the  back,  and 
pointed  to  the  objects  of  our  anxiety,  indicating  that 
he  had  kept  his  word»  I  returned  him  a  friendly  slap, 
and  made  him  understand  that  I  appreciated  his  faith- 
fulness. If  he  had  any  misgivings  during  the  previous 
week,  there  could  be  little  doubt  that  he  now  rejoiced 
in  having  saved  the  lives  of  the  teachers  we  had  com- 
mitted to  his  care. 

I  must  state  what  led  to  all  the  trouble,  which  will 
show  the  difficulties  and  dangers  with  which  we  had 
to  contend  from  another  quarter  in  our  pioneer  work. 
Two  days  after  we  had  left  the  native  teachers  at 
Dauan,  a  trading  vessel  called  there  (several  had  re- 
cently arrived  from  the  South  Seas  in  search  of  pearl 
shell).  The  captain,  ignorant  of  our  arrival  in  Torres 
Straits,  sent  two  boats  with  armed  crews  of  South  Sea 
islanders,  in  charge  of  two  white  men,  to  plunder  the 
plantations  of  the  natives.  Some  of  these  men  stood 
guard  with  loaded  muskets,  whilst  the  others  helped 
themselves  to  yams,  bananas,  cocoanuts,  etc.,  filling 
their  boats,  and  returning  to  the  ship  without  giving 
the  plundered  people  anything  in  return.  As  a  natural 
consequence,  the  savages  were  enraged,  and  thirsting 
for  blood.  They  dared  not  go  near  the  men  with 
muskets,  but  they  saw  that  most  of  them  resembled 
those  that  we  had  left  as  teachers  two  days  before, 
and  they  were  at  once  associated  in  their  minds.  Re- 
venge is  the  first  thing  a  savage  thinks  about  upon 
receiving  an  injury,  and  that  is  taken  either  upon  the 
offender,  or   upon    the   tribe   to   which   he   belongs. 


46  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

In  this  case,  seeing  they  could  not  punish  the  men 
who  had  robbed  their  gardens,  they  determined  to  be 
revenged  upon  those  whom  they  thought  belonged 
to  the  same  tribe,  and  were  probably,  in  some  way, 
associated  with  them. 

So  they  assembled  under  a  large  tree  in  front 
of  the  house  in  which  the  teachers  were  lodged,  and 
commenced  the  war  dance.  It  was  necessary  to  ob- 
tain the  consent  of  the  old  chief  with  whom  we  left 
the  teachers  before  the  people  dared  to  kill  them,  and 
this  the  old  man  refused  to  give.  Throughout  the 
night  he  was  urged  to  yield.  One  after  another  the 
savages  tried  their  powers  of  persuasion,  but  the  old 
warrior  hung  his  head  in  silence.  The  sun  set  and 
rose  again,  and  still  they  danced  round  the  fire  in  their 
feathers,  paint,  and  shells,  looking  wild  and  hideous, 
as  I  have  often  seen  them.  What  a  long,  anxious, 
terrible  night  it  must  have  been  to  the  teachers  and 
their  wives,  whose  house  was  close  by,  not  knowing 
what  moment  the  savages  might  begin  the  massacre  ! 
Whilst  they  were  imploring  the  chief  to  consent  to 
their  murderous  plan,  the  teachers  were  also  imploring 
their  great  Chief  to  protect  them.  Two  went  into  the 
loft  to  pray,  whilst  the  other  two  remained  below  with 
the  women,  to  try  and  comfort  them  ;  and  when  they 
descended,  the  other  two  took  their  place,  so  that  a 
constant  stream  of  prayer  was  kept  up  the  whole  night. 
And  what  a  prayer-meeting  that  would  be  !  With 
what  intense  anxiety  the  teachers!  wives  must  have 
watched  the  savage  crowd,  especially  those  who,  from 
time  to  time,  were  pleading  with  the  old  chief  for 
permission  to  kill  their  husbands,  which  would  leave 
them  defenceless,  and  exposed  to  a  worse  death  ! 


HOW   WE   GOT  AT  THEM.  47 

At  length  the  morning  came,  after  a  long  night  of 
anxious  watching.  The  sun  chased  away  the  dark 
clouds,  and  lifted  the  thick  veil  of  mist  that  hangs 
over  the  swampy  coast  of  New  Guinea  at  night,  but  the 
savages  made  no  sign  of  separating  and  returning  to 
their  homes.  The  fire  and  the  noise  and  the  excite- 
ment were  kept  up ;  and  under  these  circumstances, 
it  is  not  surprising  that  two  of  our  teachers  proposed 
to  escape  in  their  boat.  They  felt  that  the  old  chief 
would  get  no  peace  until  he  complied  with  the  wishes 
of  the  people,  and  that  sooner  or  later,  with  or  with- 
out his  consent,  they  would  be  murdered,  and  their 
goods  and  wives  seized  and  appropriated.  The  other 
two  and  their  wives  however  refused  to  leave  their 
post.  They  said  :  "  The  missionaries  have  placed  us 
here  to  acquire  the  language  and  teach  the  people, 
and  here  we  will  remain  till  they  take  us  away.  If  we 
die,  we  die  ;  if  we  live,  we  live  ;  we  are  in  the  hands 
of  God."  They  all  felt  that  we  ought  to  be  com- 
municated with,  and  their  position  made  known  to  us; 
so  the  two  who  proposed  leaving  put  a  few  things 
together,  and  with  their  wives  entered  the  boat, 
which  lay  at  anchor  opposite  their  door,  hoisted 
the  sail,  and  left  the  place.  What  must  have  been 
the  feelings  of  their  friends  as  they  stood  on  the 
beach  and  watched  the  boat  gradually  disappear ! 
It  was  the  last  link  severed.  Whether  the  savages 
admired  the  courage  of  those  who  remained,  or  were 
afraid  of  consequences,  is  not  very  clear.  Although 
they  are  generally  moved  most  powerfully  by  the 
latter  consideration,  they  are  nevertheless  often  actu- 
ated by  the  former.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  depar- 
ture of  the  boat  was  followed  by  a  turn  in  the  tide  of 


48  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

affairs.  The  assembly  was  broken  up,  and  the  old 
chief  took  a  present  of  food  to  comfort  the  teachers 
who  remained  and  was  ever  afterwards  their  stanch 
friend. 

Our  second  visit  had  the  happiest  results.  The 
teachers  were  greatly  comforted  and  encouraged,  and 
the  savages  were  led  to  feel  that  the  natives  we  had 
left  amongst  them  were  cared  for,  and  that  if  they 
killed  them  they  might  bring  upon  themselves  serious 
trouble.  We  had  taken  back  the  boat,  but  not  the 
two  teachers  who  left  in  it,  they  remained  by  the 
vessel,  the  other  two  who  had  volunteered  taking 
their  place ;  and  on  our  return  to  Warrior  Island  we 
decided  to  leave  them  there  for  two  reasons.  First, 
that  they  might  be  a  check  upon  the  South  Sea 
islanders,  who  were  then  beginning  to  arrive  in 
Torres  Straits,  in  the  employ  of  pearl-shellers,  and 
who,  being  liberally  supplied  with  muskets  and  am- 
munition for  their  protection,  and  with  rum  and  gin 
to  induce  them  to  work  and  as  rewards  for  work- 
ing well,  often  found  their  recreation  in  visiting 
heathen  villages,  and  plundering  plantations  and 
homes,  taking  food  from  the  one  and  wives  and 
daughters  from  the  other.  The  poor  savages  soon 
found  that  their  clubs  and  spears  were  of  little  use 
against  snider  rifles,  and  so  fled  to  the  bush  on  the 
approach  of  these  civilized  (?)  natives.  Our  mission 
in  Torres  Straits  greatly  checked,  and  eventually 
stopped  these  outrages.  Another  reason  for  leaving 
two  teachers  at  Warrior  Island  was,  that  the  Warrior 
islanders  had  intercourse  with  those  of  Bampton, 
an  island  off  the  mouth  of  the  Fly  River,  where  we 
contemplated     forming    our    other    mission    station. 


HO IV   WE  GOT  AT  THEM.  49 

Warrior  appeared  healthy,  Bampton  did  not ;  and 
so  we  thought  it  wise  to  leave  them  for  a  time,  where 
we  knew  it  was  tolerably  healthy  and  safe,  till  they 
became  acquainted  with  the  people  and  place  of 
their  destination. 

After  establishing  these  mission  stations,  we  ran 
across  the  straits  to  Cape  York,  where  a  Government 
station  had  been  formed  for  assisting  and  protecting 
shipwrecked  crews,  and  where  we  found  a  police  magis- 
trate, with  half-a-dozen  water  police  and  as  many 
black  troopers.  Mr.  Jardine,  the  police  magistrate,  re- 
ceived us  kindly,  expressed  interest  in  our  work,  and 
promised  to  visit  the  teachers  during  our  absence.  The 
next  part  of  our  programme  was  to  re-visit  Darnley, 
where  we  had  left  our  first  teachers,  and  then  cross 
the  Papuan  Gulf  and  try  and  find  out  what  the  natives 
on  the  south-east  peninsula  were  like,  so  that  we 
might  be  the  better  able  to  advise  the  directors  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society,  and  mature  our  plans  for 
working  the  mission.  At  Darnley  we  found  all  well. 
The  teachers  were  encouraged  by  the  attitude  of 
the  people  towards  them.  They  had  assisted  them 
in  putting  up  a  neat  little  cottage,  made  of  grass 
and  leaves,  so  far  indicating  their  desire  that  the 
teachers  should  remain  amongst  them.  Thus  at  this 
early  stage  of  the  mission,  we  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  our  teachers  comfortably  housed.  We  spent 
a  Sunday  with  them,  and  had  a  most  interesting 
service  in  the  cocoanut  grove — the  best  of  all  places 
for  worship  in  such  climates. 

Before  we  left  Darnley  the  yohn  Knox  arrived, 
which  caused  great  rejoicing  amongst  our  party. 
This  was  the  little  vessel  that  I  first  chartered  for  our 


so.  AMONG   THE  CANNIBALS. 

prospecting  voyage  to  New  Guinea.  The  master  and 
owner,  Mr.  Thorngren,  had  decided  to  embark  in  the 
pearl-shell  fishery  in  Torres  Straits,  and  found  no 
difficulty  in  getting  a  crew  at  Lifu  amongst  the  friends 
of  our  teachers.  They  had  a  most  adventurous  voyage 
in  this  vessel  of  eleven  tons  burden.  Had  they  made 
a  direct  course  on  leaving  New  Caledonia,  they  would 
have  had  to  traverse  fifteen  or  sixteen  hundred  miles 
of  ocean  ;  how  many  they  really  did  travel  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  say.  They  made  for  the  Louisiades,  but  were 
carried  by  currents  and  contrary  winds  to  the  Solomon 
Archipelago,  which  Mr.  Thorngren  mistook  for  the 
Louisiades.  Then  New  Britain  was  mistaken  for 
New  Guinea,  until  sailing  along  the  coast  he  found 
that  they  were  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  peninsula. 
On  their  way  they  spent  twenty-one  days  among  the 
islands  of  the  D'Entrecasteaux  group,  having  peace- 
ful intercourse  with  the  natives,  whom  they  found  to 
resemble  those  of  Eastern  Polynesia  in  colour,  hair, 
language,  canoes,  etc.  This  was  important  informa- 
tion for  us.  We  had  found  the  natives  in  the  Papuan 
Gulf  to  be  Papuan,  their  noses  being  the  distinguish- 
ing feature.  It  would  be  interesting  to  see  what 
they  were  like  at  Redscar  Bay,  near  the  middle 
of  the  peninsula,  the  next  place  to  which  we  were 
bound. 

Leaving  Darnley,  we  sailed  across  the  gulf,  keeping 
as  much  to  windward  as  possible,  seeing  that  we  were 
really  on  our  homeward  voyage,  and  had  a  long 
way  to  beat  to  windward.  We  made  the  coast  at 
Yule  Island,  running  in  near  enough  to  see  the 
natives,  but  did  not  land.  Yule  Island  lies  in  the 
mouth  of  a  bay  about  six  miles  wide,  blocked  at  one 


HOW   WE   GOT  AT  THEM.  51 

end  by  reefs,  with  a  fine  passage  at  the  other  for  large 
vessels,  making,  between  it  and  the  mainland,  one  of 
the  finest  harbours  in  New  Guinea,  known  as  Hall 
Sound.  As  we  passed  it  and  gazed  upon  its  green- 
clad  hills  and  thick  forest  land,  both  Mr.  Murray  and 
I  felt  that  it  might  prove  a  good  Dauan  for  that  part 
of  the  country.  We  regarded  such  islands,  close  to 
the  mainland,  as  likely  to  be  of  great  service  in  carry- 
ing on  the  evangelization  of  New  Guinea.  Rough 
weather  set  in  whilst  we  were  off  Yule  Island,  causing 
us  a  week's  hard  beating  to  reach  Redscar  Head, 
where  we  anchored  to  have  intercourse  with  the 
people.  We  found  them  at  first  exceedingly  shy, 
showing  no  disposition  to  come  near  our  vessel ;  but 
after  a  visit  on  shore  we  succeeded  in  getting  a  num- 
ber to  come  on  board,  where  we  treated  them  in  the 
usual  way.  Our  object  was  accomplished.  We  found 
them  lighter  in  colour  than  those  in  the  gulf,  with  a 
language  resembling  the  Eastern  Polynesian,  and  like 
them  wearing  the  maro.  Mr.  Murray  recognised  in 
their  numerals  and  other  words  a  very  marked  like- 
ness to  the  Samoan,  and  the  people  themselves  ap- 
peared to  be  of  the  same  kind  as  those  we  saw  at 
Hood  Bay,  seventy-five  miles  to  the  eastward,  and 
those  described  by  Mr.  Thorngren,  with  whom  he  had 
intercourse  at  the  east  end  and  opposite  side  of  the 
peninsula.  We  had  good  reasons  therefore  for  con- 
cluding that  the  whole  of  the  south-east  peninsula 
was  peopled  by  these  Malayo-Polynesians,  and  con- 
sequently decided  to  recommend  the  directors  of  our 
society  to  appoint  a  couple  of  missionaries  from 
Eastern  Polynesia,  with  a  staff  of  teachers  from  that 
branch   of   our  South    Sea  mission,  to   take  up  the 


52  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

work  on  the  south-east  peninsula  of  New  Guinea, 
leaving  our  Western  Polynesian  teachers  to  carry  on 
the  work  in  the  Papuan  Gulf,  where  we  had  begun 
the  mission  amongst  the  darker  tribes,  who  were  more 
like  themselves. 

It  is  a  somewhat  remarkable  fact  that  the  London 
Missionary  Society  was  the  only  society  in  a  position 
to  supply  missionaries  and  native  evangelists  from  both 
Eastern  and  Western  Polynesia,  to  meet  the  peculiar 
wants  of  a  mission  in  New  Guinea.  Our  society  had 
just  the  kind  of  agency  needed  for  the  evangelization 
of  the  two  races  in  that  portion  of  New  Guinea  which 
we  intended  to  make  the  field  of  our  mission,  and 
which  has  now  become  a  colony  of  Great  Britain. 
Here  was  a  fine  field  for  mission  work  for  the 
native  Churches  of  Polynesia :  the  Loyalty  Islands 
mission  taking  the  dark  race ;  and  the  Tahitian 
mission,  the  Hervey  Islands  mission,  the  Niue  mis- 
sion, and  the  Samoan  mission,  the  lighter  coloured 
tribes  on  the  peninsula.  If  nothing  more  had  been 
done  in  the  South  Seas  than  prepare  a  native 
agency  for  this  great  work,  it  would  be  a  grand 
result. 

In  our  return  voyage  to  Lifu  we  encountered  strong 
head  winds  and  currents,  in  consequence  of  which 
we  ran  short  of  provisions.  The  native  portion  of  the 
crew  were  reduced  to  one  cocoanut  each  per  day 
and  we  to  a  little  dry  biscuit  and  coffee ;  and  we  all 
had  fish  when  we  could  catch  them  !  At  Lifu,  they 
had  begun  to  entertain  grave  doubts  about  our  safety 
which  was  perfectly  natural,  seeing  that  we  hoped  to 
return  in  three  months,  and  were  absent  five,  and  con- 
sidering  the   dangerous  navigation    and  the   savage 


BO IV  IV E   GOT  AT  THEM.  53 

character  of  the  natives  of  New  Guinea.  Great  was 
the  joy  therefore  on  our  return,  and  equally  great 
was  our  gratitude  to  God  for  His  goodness  to  us,  and 
to  those  we  had  left  behind.  We  had  sent  our  report 
to  the  directors  of  our  society  from  one  of  the  north- 
ern ports  of  Australia,  and  so  had  not  long  to  wait  for 
their  reply,  which  expressed  their  glad  surprise,  devout 
thankfulness,  and  hearty  sympathy  and  co-operation. 
In  appointing  me  to  this  New  Guinea  work,  their 
idea  was  that  I  should  begin  after  my  visit  to  Eng- 
land, from  which  I  had  been  absent  thirteen  years, 
and  to  which  I  was  about  to  return,  to  carry  through 
the  press  the  New  Testament  and  Psalms  in  the  Lifu 
language  ;  but  being  a  "  canny  Scotchman,"  I  was 
anxious  to  make  a  prospecting  voyage  to  my  new 
sphere  before  meeting  the  directors  in  London,  in 
order  to  be  able  to  speak  from  experience  in  discuss- 
ing plans  for  carrying  on  so  great  and  difficult  a 
work.  My  brethren  in  the  Loyalty  group  were  un- 
animous in  authorizing  me,  at  our  annual  meeting, 
to  engage  the  John  Knox  for  the  purpose ;  which  I 
did,  at  the  rate  of  ;^20  per  month. 

In  order  to  meet  the  peculiar  difficulties  of  our  new 
mission,  it  was  evident  that  we  must  adopt  some 
other  plan  than  that  which  had  hitherto  been  pursued 
in  the  South  Seas.  To  go  in  the  JoJui  Williams  and 
locate  teachers  on  New  Guinea,  to  be  left  unvisited 
till  her  return  voyage  twelve  months  afterwards, 
would  be  simply  inhuman.  Two  things  appeared 
essential  :  missionaries  must  be  on  the  spot,  and  they 
must  have  the  means  of  paying  frequent  visits  to  the 
teachers,  in  order  to  direct,  protect,  and  if  necessary 
remove  them.    Mr.  Murray  was  consequently  directed 


54  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

to  return  to  New  Guinea,  and  take  charge  of  the  infant 
mission,  whilst  I  was  in  England.  It  was  arranged 
that  he  should  proceed  thither  in  the  John  Williams, 
taking  with  him  Eastern  Polynesian  teachers  to  com- 
mence the  mission  amongst  the  lighter  coloured 
tribes  on  the  south-east  peninsula  at  Redscar  Bay, 
where  we  had  held  intercourse  with  the  people,  and 
some  more  from  Lifu  and  Mare  for  the  Papuan  Gulf 
The  eastern  teachers  were  from  the  Hervey  Islands, 
and  were  accompanied  by  their  missionary.  Rev.  W. 
Wyatt  Gill,  who  was  proceeding  to  England  on  fur- 
lough, and  who  rendered  Mr.  Murray  valuable  help 
in  locating  the  new  teachers  and  visiting  all  the 
stations. 

On  that  occasion  the  central  branch  of  our  mission 
was  commenced  at  the  mouth  of  the  Manumanu  River, 
in  Redscar  Bay  ;  but  the  place  proved  so  exceedingly 
unhealthy,  that  the  surviving  teachers  were  removed 
to  Port  Moresby  in  the  following  year,  that  port  having 
just  been  discovered  by  Captain  Moresby.  Messrs. 
Murray  and  Gill  also  landed  teachers  at  Bampton 
Island,  near  the  Fly  River,  the  place  that  we  intended 
to  visit  during  our  prospecting  voyage,  but  were  pre- 
vented by  the  trouble  at  Dauan.  These  two  teachers 
(Lifuans)  and  their  wives  however  were  the  first 
martyrs  of  our  New  Guinea  mission.  In  their  zeal, 
they  had  unwisely  interfered  with  some  of  the  super- 
stitious rites  of  the  heathen,  who  retaliated  by  giving 
them  the  fatal  blow  with  a  club  whilst  their  heads 
were  bowed  at  evening  prayers.  Their  wives  lived 
for  some  time  after.  The  heathen  quarrelled  about 
them,  one  being  ultimately  killed  by  the  enemy  of 
the  warrior  who  had  taken  her  as  his  wife.     The  other 


HOW    WE  GOT  AT  THEM.  55 

was  caught  by  a  crocodile  whilst  wading  out  to  a 
point,  where  she  had  been  in  the  habit  of  going  to  see 
if  any  boat  or  vessel  was  coming  to  her  rescue.  Such 
is  the  most  authentic  account  I  could  obtain  from  the 
natives  of  the  place  years  afterwards,  although  they 
were  reluctant  to  speak  on  the  subject.  These  were 
the  people  of  whom  I  have  written,  who  confessed 
the  great  mistake  they  had  made  in  murdering 
their  best  friends,  supposing  them  to  be  enemies, 
and  where  we  have  now  a  prosperous  mission 
station. 

Mrs.  Murray  accompanied  her  husband  to  New 
Guinea,  and  the  Queensland  Government  kindly 
allowed  them  to  use  an  unoccupied  house  on  the 
hill,  adjoining  the  one  where  the  police  magistrate 
had  quarters,  at  Somerset,  Cape  York,  thus  providing, 
for  a  time,  a  sanatorium  for  the  mission,  until  we 
were  able  to  decide  upon  the  most  suitable  place  for 
our  central  station.  With  the  John  Knox  and  a 
friend  like  Mr.  Thorngren  in  Torres  Straits,  Mr. 
Murray  was  able  to  superintend  the  young  mission 
until  we  arrived  with  the  new  vessel,  Ellengowan.  It 
was  a  trying  time  however  for  a  man  of  his  age ; 
still  the  danger  and  discomfort  of  travelling  in  boats 
and  small  vessels,  and  the  anxiety  arising  from  the 
unhealthy  state  of  the  mission,  and  the  sickness  and 
death  of  the  teachers,  were  a  fitting  close  to  so  long 
and  honourable  a  missionary  career. 

I  have  now  given  some  account  of  "  How  we  Got  at 
the  Cannibals,"  and  established  our  mission  amongst 
them,  both  on  the  main  body  of  the  island  and  on 
the  south-east  peninsula  ;  also  on  some  of  the  islands 
off  the  coast,  to  be  used  as  stepping-stones   to  the 


56  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

mainland,  and  as  sanatoriums  and  "cities  of  refuge  " 
for  the  mission.  I  will  now  proceed  to  describe 
briefly  the  opening  up  of  the  country,  and  the  pro- 
gress of  our  work. 


THE    OPENING   UP  OF  THE  COUNTRY,   AND    THE 
PROGRESS  OF  THE  MISSION. 


W^lJ^M^^'  ^    ^^  experience  gained  from    our 
^,  H  f  '  prospecting  voyage  convinced  me 

H  that   a   small  vessel  with    steam 

H  power  was  highly  desirable,  if  not 

^m  absolutely  necessary,  during  the 

first  years  of  our  pioneer  work  and 
explorations  ;  and  I  determined,  if  possible,  during 
my  visit  to  England  to  obtain  such  a  vessel.  Soon 
after  my  arrival,  I  was  sent  to  Scotland  to  represent 
our  society  at  some  of  the  annual  missionary  meet- 
ings, and  whilst  attending  those  at  Dundee  was  the 
g^est  of  Miss  Baxter,  to  whom  I  unfolded  my  plans 

57 


58  AMONG    THE  CANNIBALS. 

for  carrying  on  and  extending  the  work.  That  bene- 
volent lady  took  a  warm  interest  in  our  mission  from 
the  first,  and  her  interest  was  of  a  very  practical 
kind.  She  listened  to  all  I  had  to  say,  without  say- 
ing much  herself,  made  inquiries  from  practical  men, 
sea  captains,  and  others  ;  and  finding  that  all  agreed 
that  it  would  be  unwise,  if  not  even  a  useless  waste 
of  life,  time,  and  money,  to  attempt  such  a  work  as 
we  contemplated,  without  a  small  vessel  with  steam 
power,  she  consulted  ship-builders  and  engineers  as 
to  the  best  kind  of  vessel  and  probable  cost.  When 
I  left  Dundee,  she  desired  me  to  inform  the  directors 
that  she  would  provide  such  a  vessel  for  the  New 
Guinea  Mission  as  they  might  consider  most  suitable. 
This  led  to  the  purchase  and  equipment  of  a  small 
steamer  of  thirty-six  tons  register,  which  was  named 
Ellengowan^  that  being  the  name  of  Miss  Baxter's 
residence,  near  Dundee.  The  Ellengowan  steamed 
from  London  to  Torres  Straits,  vid  the  Suez  Canal. 

A  missionary's  furlough  in  England  is  often  the 
busiest  time  of  his  life.  Mine  was  unusually  so,  as 
I  had  carried  through  the  press  the  New  Testament 
and  Psalms  in  the  Lifu  language,  published  "The 
Story  of  the  Lifu  Mission,"  and  spent  much  time  in 
connection  with  committees  and  arrangements  with 
reference  to  our  new  mission,  besides  taking  my  full 
share  of  deputation  work  amongst  the  Churches. 
Our  directors  feel  that  a  missionary  who  has  been  at 
his  station  (often  a  lonely  and  sickly  one)  for  ten  or 
twelve  years  needs  a  change  ;  and  they  seldom  allow 
him  to  return  without  his  being  fully  convinced  that 
he  has  had  it,  and  being  equally  convinced  that  one 
may  have  too  much  of  a  good  thing ! 


EXPLORATION.  59 

Amongst  other  things,  the  directors  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society  decided  that  the  staff  of  mission- 
aries for  New  Guinea  should  be  increased  to  foiir^ 
and  that  we  should  follow  the  scriptural  rule,  and 
go  "two  and  two,"  to  superintend  the  eastern  and 
western  branches  of  the  mission.  In  the  mean- 
time, they  would  appoint  another  experienced  mis- 
sionary to  accompany  me,  and  after  we  had  fixed 
upon  headquarters  for  both  branches  of  the  mission, 
they  would  send  out  two  young  missionaries  (one 
being  a  medical  missionary),  that  the  new  and  the 
old  might  be  associated  at  each  of  our  central 
stations.  This  was  an  admirable  arrangement,  and 
they  succeeded  in  securing  for  me  an  excellent  col- 
league, one  of  the  best  missionaries  in  the  South 
Seas,  Rev.  W.  G.  Lawes,  of  Savage  Island,  an  able, 
plodding,  cautious,  conscientious,  kind,  and  gentle- 
manly man,  who  had  been  to  Savage  Island  pretty 
much  what  I  had  been  to  Lifu,  and  was  the  first  mis- 
sionary who  lived  amongst  the  people,  translated  the 
New  Testament  and  the  Psalms  into  their  language, 
and  trained  a  native  agency.  We  met  in  Australia, 
and  came  home  in  the  same  vessel.  Of  course  we 
talked  much  of  the  new  mission,  which  I  was  anxious 
he  should  join,  and  had  reason  to  believe  that  he 
would  do  so,  if  asked  by  the  directors.  They  felt 
that  he  would  be  just  the  man,  and  formally  re- 
quested him  to  transfer  his  services  to  the  New 
Guinea  Mission. 

We  were  also  fortunate  in  securing  for  our  pioneer 
steamer,  the  Ellengowan,  a  good  captain  and  engineer. 
Christian  men  of  experience  and  ability,  who  were  in 
perfect  sympathy  with  us  in  our  work.     The  former 


6o  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

had  been  trained  as  a  ship-builder.  He  went  to  sea 
as  a  ship's  carpenter,  studied  navigation,  became  mate 
of  the  Jo/m  Williams,  and  was  a  favourite  amongst 
the  natives  throughout  the  islands  where  the  John 
Williams  called.  Mr.  Runcie  appeared  to  be  the 
very  man  we  wanted,  for  he  could  both  navigate  our 
vessel  and  repair  it.  I  met  him  in  Sydney,  on  the 
eve  of  my  departure  for  England,  and  found  that  he 
would  be  willing  to  take  charge  of  our  vessel,  which 
appointment  he  ultimately  received  from  the  direc- 
tors of  our  society.  We  were  equally  fortunate  in 
our  engineer.  He  was  a  member  of  one  of  our 
London  Churches,  and  the  minister,  Rev.  A.  Buza- 
cott,  finding  that  I  was  in  search  of  a  suitable  man 
for  this  important  post  in  our  little  steamer,  recom- 
mended Mr.  Smithurst  to  me,  as  being  the  very 
person  we  wanted.  I  hiad  an  interview  with  him, 
looked  over  his  testimonials,  which  were  of  a  high 
order,  felt  convinced  that  he  was  the  man  for  us, 
and  mentioned  him  to  the  directors,  who  appointed 
him  at  once  to  assist  in  getting  the  EU'engowan 
ready  for  her  long  sea  voyage.  Considering  the 
nature  of  the  service  in  which  the  captain  and 
engineer  were  to  be  engaged,  it  was  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  they  should  be  intelligent  Christian 
men,  in  sympathy  with  mission  work.  We  had 
reason  therefore  to  be  thankful  at  having  secured 
such  men  as  Captain  Runcie  and  Mr.  Smithurst,  who 
both  rendered  such  excellent  service  in  very  trying 
circumstances. 

It  was  arranged  that  we  should  meet  the  Ellen- 
goivan  in  Torres  Straits, — she  steaming  out  via  the 
Suez  Canal,  calling  at  certain  ports  for  coal  and  sup- 


EXPLORATION.  6i 

plies;  we,  the  mission  party,  proceeding  in  a  sailing 
vessel  to  Sydney,  where  we  were  to  meet  the  John 
Williams,  which  was  to  take  us  to  Cape  York,  the 
temporary  headquarters  of  the  mission.  On  our 
arrival  in  Sydney,  it  was  considered  desirable  that  I 
should  proceed  at  once  to  Cape  York  by  one  of  the 
coasting  steamers,  to  make  preparations  for  the  arri- 
val of  our  party.  There  were  no  means  of  informing 
Mr.  Murray,  who  was  not  even  aware  of  our  arrival 
in  Sydney.  Judge  of  his  and  Mrs.  Murray's  surprise, 
when  I  presented  myself  at  the  door  of  their  house, 
about  nine  o'clock  on  a  dark  night.  The  joy  and  relief 
and  general  excitement  proved  too  much  for  Mr. 
Murray,  who  soon  after  my  arrival  had  a  serious  illness, 
which  he  regarded  as  an  indication  that  it  was  time 
for  him  to  retire  from  active  missionary  work.  Con- 
sequently he  prepared  to  leave  in  the  John  Williams. 
The  news  of  my  arrival  spread  amongst  our 
teachers,  some  of  whom  soon  found  their  way  to 
Cape  York,  and  assisted  in  erecting  a  large  grass 
house  for  the  reception  of  the  teachers  who  were 
coming  by  the  John  Williams.  I  had  taken  some 
weather-boards,  with  which  we  inclosed  a  portion 
of  the  verandah  of  the  house  occupied  by  Mr 
and  Mrs.  Murray,  thereby  increasing  its  size  to 
meet  the  large  demands  that  would  soon  be  made 
upon  it.  Mr.  Jardine,  the  police  magistrate,  kindly 
allowed  me  to  use  the  Gov^ernment  cutter,  in  which 
I  visited  some  of  our  mission  stations.  Then  the 
Ellengowayi  arrived  from  England  ;  and  about  the 
same  time  H.M.S.  CJialle^iger,  on  her  deep-sea  sound- 
ing expedition,  called  at  Cape  York,  and  remained  a 
week.     Captain  (afterwards  Sir  George)  Nares  made 


62  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

that  week  a  very  pleasant  one  for  me,  frequently 
sending  in  a  boat  for  me  to  go  off  to  dinner,  and 
coming  up  to  the  mission  house  without  any  cere- 
mony— so  different  from  the  visits  of  captains  of 
French  men-of-war  at  Lifu.  The  scientific  staff  on 
board  the  Challenger  made  their  mess  the  largest 
in  the  British  navy,  so  that  the  evenings  spent  on 
board  are  remembered  as  amongst  the  most  pleasant 
of  my  life.  The  Ellengowan  had  arrived  with  a  leaky 
boiler,  but  Captain  Nares  sent  his  boiler-makers  on 
board,  who  soon  made  the  necessary  repairs.  Three 
weeks  after  her  arrival  she  had  been  beached  and 
thoroughly  overhauled,  and  was  again  ready  for  sea 
before  the  John  Williams  reached  Cape  York. 

Not  only  was  the  Ellengowan  in  readiness,  but 
the  house  was  erected  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  teachers,  and  the  alterations  and  additions  made 
to  the  mission  house  completed,  and  Mr.  Murray 
had  nearly  all  his  things  packed  ready  to  leave, 
when,  to  our  great  surprise,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lawes 
and  child  arrived  by  one  of  the  steamers  passing 
through  Torres  Straits.  Before  I  left  Sydney,  we 
had  arranged  that  I  should  go  on  first  to  make 
preparations,  and  that  he  would  follow  in  the  John 
Williams,  in  charge  of  the  mission  party.  Unfor- 
tunately however,  at  the  last  moment,  when  all  his 
goods  were  on  board,  his  youngest  child  was  seized 
with  what  was  supposed  to  be  scarlet  fever,  and 
he  and  Mrs.  Lawes  decided  to  remain,  and  follow 
in  a  steamer,  which  was  to  leave  for  Torres  Straits 
the  following  week  ;  hence  their  arrival  at  Cape  York 
before  the  John  Williams.  We  were  of  course  de- 
lighted  to   see   them,    but    naturally    very    anxious 


EXPLORATION.  63 

about  my  wife  and  family,  and  the  native  teachers 
and  their  wives,  when  we  found  that  the  John 
Williams  had  started  from  Sydney  with  so  many 
passengers,  without  as  usual,  a  missionary  on  board 
to  attend  to  them  in  case  of  sickness.  We  were 
however  glad  to  learn  that  all  were  well  when  the 
vessel  left  Sydney,  and  hoped  to  find  them  so  on  its 
arrival.  We  had  not  long  to  wait,  and  when  she 
appeared  we  were  soon  on  board,  to  meet  the  dear 
ones,  and  congratulate  the  captain  upon  his  successful 
navigation  in  such  dangerous  waters. 

I  learnt  that  day  what  it  is  to  pass  in  a  moment 
from  real  joy  to  deep  grief  on  finding  that  my 
daughter  had  died,  and  been  buried  at  sea,  and 
that  the  watching,  grief,  and  anxiety  had  almost 
proved  too  much  for  my  dear  wife.  Our  beloved 
child  was  six  years  of  age,  a  sweet  little  girl, 
the  very  light  of  our  home,  and  who,  we  thought, 
would  be  especially  so  during  the  first  dark  years 
of  our  New  Guinea  Mission  life.  She  was  perfectly 
well  when  the  John  Williams  left  Sydney;  but  the 
voyage  was  a  rough  one,  and  she  suffered  intensely 
from  sea-sickness.  After  leaving  Sydney  harbour  she 
took  to  her  bed,  and  never  left  it,  being  unable  to  take 
any  nourishment.  She  died  on  the  seventh  day  out 
from  sheer  exhaustion,  being  quite  conscious  up  to  the 
last.  When  one  of  the  native  teachers'  wives  was  pray- 
ing by  her  bedside,  she  said,  "  I  love  Jesus,  and  Jesus 
loves  me,  and  I  am  going  to  His  house."  Just  before 
she  died  she  became  blind,  and  called  for  her  mother, 
and  putting  her  arms  round  her  neck,  said,  "  I'm  not 
afraid,  mamma,  I'm  not  afraid  ;  I'm  just  going  to  lie 
and  think  "  ;  and  so  she  passed  away  from  the  arms 


64  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

of  her  lonely,  disconsolate  mother.  Captain  Turpie's 
kindness  and  attention  during  this  trying  time  were 
beyond  all  praise,  especially  considering  his  anxiety 
about  the  navigation  and  management  of  his  vessel. 

The  directors  recommended,  as  the  wisest  course, 
that  Mr.  Lawes  should  leave  his  family  with  mine  at 
Cape  York,  whilst  he  and  I  made  a  thorough  survey 
of  our  new  mission  field,  and  decided  upon  the  most 
suitable  points  for  central  stations.  Before  he  left 
Sydney  however  he  was  led  to  see  the  desirability 
of  proceeding  to  Port  Moresby  at  once  in  the  John 
Williams  upon  her  arrival  at  Cape  York,  there  being 
some  talk  of  a  party  of  explorers  and  gold-diggers 
going  there,  and  from  the  good  report  of  the  place 
given  by  the  discoverer.  Captain  Moresby,  and  also 
from  the  fact  of  Eastern  Polynesian  teachers  having 
been  located  there  the  previous  year  by  Messrs. 
Murray  and  Gill.  Under  other  circumstances,  the 
getting  our  goods  on  shore  and  unpacked,  and  Mr. 
Murray's  packed  and  on  board,  the  landing  and 
re-embarking  of  teachers,  etc.,  would  have  been  an 
enjoyable  excitement ;  but  in  our  great  grief  it  was  all 
confusion,  and  like  a  dream  when  we  actually  saw 
the  JoJin  Williams  being  towed  out  of  the  harbour 
by  our  little  Ellengowan  with  our  friends  on  board. 
The  least  I  can  say  is,  that  we  felt  lonely,  and  could 
not  help  thinking  of  the  beautiful  home  and  pro- 
sperous mission  we  had  left  at  Lifu,  and  of  the  happy 
home  we  might  have  had  in  England,  with  our  dear 
children  around  us.  But  these  were  not  the  thoughts 
to  be  indulged  in  by  a  pioneer  missionary,  and  we 
knew  from  experience  that  they  were  only  to  be 
exorcised  by  work,  plenty  of  which  had  to  be  done 


rORT    MORIiSBY,    SHOWING   MISSION   STATION. 


EXPLORA  TION.  65 

before   the    return    of    the    Ellengowan    from    Port 
Moresby. 

My  colleague,  Mr.  Lawes,  soon  found  himself  in  the 
midst  of  work,  excitement,  and  anxiety.  The  teachers 
had  erected,  at  the  mission  station,  good  houses  for 
themselves  and  their  friends,  such  as  they  had  been 
accustomed  to  in  the  South  Seas,  and  Mr,  Lawes  had 
taken  a  weather-board  house  from  Sydney,  also  the 
tent  which  we  got  in  London  for  the  mission.  The 
John  Williams  and  the  Ellengozvan  remained  at  Port 
Moresby  until  these  were  put  up,  the  crews  of  both 
vessels  assisting  in  their  erection,  and  doing  all  in 
their  power,  not  only  to  make  the  stores  secure  and 
the  house  comfortable,  but  also  to  maintain  and  in- 
crease the  good  feeling  existing  between  the  mission 
and  the  people.  The  teachers  had  only  been  there 
about  a  year,  and  although  the  place  was  considered 
tolerably  healthy,  it  was  evident  that  the  confidence 
of  the  natives  had  yet  to  be  gained  and  the  character 
of  the  climate  in  that  locality  tested  ;  and  the  accom- 
plishment of  these  objects  sorely  tried  the  faith, 
patience,  and  courage  of  my  colleague  and  his  staff 
of  teachers. 

During  the  first  season  we  got  our  baptism  of  New 
Guinea  fever.  The  acclimatizing  attacks  are  generally 
the  worst ;  mine  lasted  twelve  days,  accompanied  by 
severe  vomiting.  The  teachers,  in  both  branches  of 
the  mission,  suffered  much,  indeed  many  of  them  did 
not  recover.  Port  Moresby  proved  exceedingly  un- 
healthy, so  that  our  hospital  at  Cape  York  was  soon 
filled  with  teachers  from  both  branches  of  the  mission. 
This  state  of  things  led  to  our  search  for  healthy 
localities  suitable  for  mission  stations.    In  the  Papuan 


66  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

Gulf  the  land  is  low  and  swampy.  Our  Lifu  and 
Mare  teachers  found  it  impossible  to  live  on  the 
mainland  at  Katau  and  Tureture  ;  fortunately  they 
had  Dauan  and  Darnley  to  fall  back  upon,  or  Katau, 
like  Port  Moresby,  might  have  been  called  "  the  grave 
of  the  mission." 

I  learnt  from  the  natives  of  the  existence  of  a  large 
river,  lake,  or  inland  sea  (it  was  difficult  to  make  out 
which  from  their  description)  about  twenty  miles  to 
the  west  of  Dauan,  and  determined  to  visit  it,  and 
see  if  it  were  possible  by  it  to  reach  high  land 
and  populous  districts  for  our  mission  work.  I  was 
accompanied  on  that  interesting  voyage  by  two 
friends,  James  Orkney,  Esq.,  member  of  the  Victorian 
parliament,  and  Mr.  Octavius  Stone,  F.R.G.S.  The 
former  had  rendered  valuable  service  to  the  mission 
in  his  private  yacht,  during  my  absence  in  England, 
and  was  greatly  interested  in  our  work.  The  latter 
has  written  a  book  about  New  Guinea,  in  which  he 
speaks  for  himself  We  were  delighted  to  find  a 
noble  river,  about  a  mile  wide  at  the  entrance,  six  or 
seven  fathoms  deep,  without  any  bar  or  impediment 
to  a  steamer  of  5(X)  tons  burden  for  a  distance  of 
seventy  or  eighty  miles,  although  the  approach  to  the 
river's  mouth  from  Dauan  is  rather  intricate  and 
dangerous.  Having  gone  about  ninety  miles,  we 
were  stopped  by  fallen  trees  and  snags.  The  river 
had  become  very  narrow,  and  we  had  passed  many 
tributaries  of  considerable  size.  Some  of  the  largest 
of  these  however  were  salt,  and  as  I  found  after- 
wards led  to  the  coast  farther  to  the  west,  thus 
forming  a  large  island.  We  did  not  see  any  villages, 
although  we  landed  every  morning  whilst  the  crew 


EXPLORATION.  67 

were  cutting  fuel  for  our  day's  run,  and  penetrated 
a  considerable  distance  into  the  interior  on  both  sides 
of  the  river.  Only  on  two  occasions  did  we  see 
natives,  and  they  appeared  very  much  afraid,  and 
disappeared  as  we  approached.  Their  tracks,  and 
sometimes  temporary  dwellings,  were  seen  at  several 
points.  Atone  place  we  found  a  tobacco  and  banana 
plantation.  We  were  disappointed  however  in 
not  being  able  to  reach  the  high  lands.  Before 
returning,  we  cut  a  frame  in  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  in 
which,  we  placed  a  portrait  of  her  majesty  the 
queen,  and  around  it  hung  a  few  presents  for  the 
natives — hatchets,  knives,  a  looking-glass,  etc.  Being 
the  first  Europeans  to  enter  this  river,  we  named  it  in 
honour  of  the  donor  of  our  missionary  steamer,  by 
means  of  which  our  explorations  were  made,  calling 
it  the  Baxter  River. 

Failing  to  find  suitable  places  for  mission  stations 
up  the  Baxter  River,  I  resolved  to  take  the  first 
favourable  opportunity  of  trying  the  Fly  River.  At 
the  Royal  Geographical  Society  I  had  met  Captain 
Evans,  hydrographer  to  the  Admiralty,  who  was  mid- 
shipman with  Captain  Blackwood  during  his  visit  to 
New  Guinea  in  1845,  and  learnt  from  him  all  that 
was  known  about  the  Fly  River.  They  discovered 
what  they  supposed  to  be  the  mouth  of  a  large  river, 
judging  from  the  body  of  fresh  water  flowing  out, 
attempted  to  enter  it  in  the  ship's  pinnace,  were 
met  by  large  canoes  full  of  savage-looking  men,  who 
were  evidently  coming  to  attack  them,  and  having 
no  desire  to  shed  blood,  returned  to  the  ship,  and 
gave  the  name  of  their  vessel  to  the  river.  Captain 
Evans  declared   it  to  be  his  firm  conviction  that  it 


68  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

would  require  two  of  her  majesty's  gunboats  to  open 
up  that  river  ;  and  when  my  report  of  our  voyage  up 
the  river  was  read  before  the  Royal  Geographical 
Society,  he  declared  to  the  meeting  that  he  considered 
it  one  of  the  best  pioneer  voyages  of  modern  times. 
When  I  informed  Mr.  Lawes  of  my  intention,  he 
replied  that  I  had  better  send  the  Ellengoivan  back 
to  Port  Moresby  with  a  large  supply  of  stores,  before 
I  commenced  so  perilous  a  voyage  ! 

I  was  fully  alive  to  the  difficulties  of  the  task,  and 
made  my  arrangements  accordingly.  As  my  object 
was  to  see  if  there  were  suitable  localities  for  mission 
stations  which  could  be  conveniently  reached  by  the 
river,  I  determined  to  avoid,  if  possible,  any  chance 
of  collision  with  the  natives  (who  of  course  were 
ignorant  of  our  friendly  intentions),  by  landing  to  cut 
fuel  at  uninhabited  places.  If  successful  in  the  object 
of  our  search,  it  would  be  a  comparatively  easy 
matter  afterwards  to  conciliate  the  natives,  and  give 
them  a  true  idea  as  to  whom  and  what  we  were.  I 
was  accompanied  on  this,  as  on  the  previous  voyage, 
by  two  gentlemen,  who  were  anxious  to  form  part  of 
the  expedition — Mr.  Chester,  the  police  magistrate 
at  Cape  York,  and  Signor  d'Albertis,  the  Italian 
naturalist.  The  latter  was  particularly  fortunate  in 
arriving  just  in  time  to  join  us,  which  led  to  his 
obtaining  a  steam  launch  from  the  New  South  Wales 
Government  the  following  year,  and  ascending  the 
river  much  higher  than  I  felt  justified  in  going.  We 
had  difficulty  in  finding  a  passage  into  the  river,  and 
owing  to  its  great  width  and  numerous  sand-banks, 
mud-flats,  and  small  islands,  very  considerable  diffi- 
culty in  ascending  it.     We  found  that  what  we  at 


EXPLORATION.  69 

first  supposed  to  be  the  eastern  bank  was  really 
a  large  island  about  thirty-five  miles  long,  on  each 
side  of  which  the  Fly  River  empties  itself  into  the 
sea,  pouring  forth  such  a  body  of  fresh  water,  that 
the  line  between  that  and  the  salt  sea  may  be  seen 
miles  from  the  coast.  The  river  is  about  eight 
miles  wide  where  it  branches  off  on  each  side  of  the 
island  of  Kiwai.  It  narrows  rapidly  to  three  or  four 
miles,  and  then  gradually  becomes  more  defined.  It 
is  studded  with  small  and  beautiful  islands,  whilst  the 
banks  are  lined  with  stemless  palms  and  cocoanut 
groves,  in  which  are  numerous  villages  and  towns  of 
warlike  people.  These  savages  at  several  points  came 
out  to  attack  us,  in  large  and  fleet  canoes,  holding 
twenty-five  or  thirty  men  each.  They  looked  well  in 
their  war-paint,  feathers,  and  shell  ornaments,  with 
a  kind  of  helmet  surmounted  by  a  paradise  bird 
plume,  kept  waving  by  their  excited  movements. 
One  could  not  but  admire  their  courage.  We  were 
strangers  to  them,  and  regarded  by  them  as  enemies 
come  to  murder  and  plunder ;  and  like  men,  they 
came  out  to  defend  their  homes  and  families,  probably 
hoping  to  return,  as  they  had  often  done,  with  trophies 
of  their  success,  in  the  shape  of  human  heads  and 
plunder.  Whenever  we  found  that  it  was  impossible 
to  hold  communication  with  them,  and  that  they  were 
determined  to  attack  us,  some  standing  with  bows 
strung  and  arrows  fixed,  just  waiting  excitedly  to  get 
within  range,  we  felt  that  the  most  humane  thing  to 
do  was  to  prevent  a  collision,  which  would  have  led 
to  much  loss  of  life,  and  this  we  did  by  frightening 
them  away  in  a  harmless  manner. 

We   found   the  banks  of  the  river  pretty  thickly 


70  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

populated  for  the  first  eighty  miles  or  so,  but  for  the 
next  eighty  or  ninety  miles  we  did  not  see  any  natives, 
and  only  on  one  occasion  did  we  find  any  traces  of 
them.  As  we  proceeded  the  banks  became  higher,  in 
some  places  rising  to  twenty  feet,  and  the  soil,  as  may 
be  supposed,  is  a  rich  alluvial.  The  wild  nutmeg  and 
other  spices  abound.  Pigeons  shot  had  generally  their 
crops  full  of  the  former.  There  are  immense  tracts 
of  good  sugar  land  on  the  upper  parts  of  the  Fly 
River,  where  the  country  appears  to  be  very  thinly 
populated.  This  great  river  is  the  Thames  of  New 
Guinea,  running  500  miles  into  the  interior.  We  went 
up  about  160  miles  in  the  Ellengozvan ;  but  as  there  was 
no  prospect  of  finding  that  for  which  I,  as  a  missionary, 
was  in  search  (for  neither  mountains  nor  natives  could 
be  seen),  provisions  running  short,  and  our  crew 
beginning  to  suffer  from  fever,  our  own  legs  also  begin- 
ning the  ominous  swelling,  I  determined  to  return. 

About  seventy  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river 
we  had  the  misfortune  to  ground  on  a  sand-bank 
and  break  our  shaft,  and  this  right  opposite  a  village 
of  howling  savages.  Afterwards,  during  a  visit  to  a 
village  near  that  place,  I  measured  one  of  the  houses, 
and  found  it  to  be  5 12  feet  long.  There  was  little  fear 
in  ascending  the  river,  because  we  went  with  the 
flowing  tide,  so  that  if  we  stuck,  we  were  soon  afloat 
again.  But  in  returning  (the  tide  being  too  strong  for 
us  to  steam  against  it)  with  an  ebb  tide  the  case  was 
totally  different,  and  often  very  serious.  We  had 
made  a  chart  of  the  river  during  our  ascent,  but  could 
not  then  find  the  deep  water  channel  at  the  place 
where  we  grounded  coming  down.  The  river  is  there 
about  three  miles   wide,  with   numerous   banks  and 


EXPLORATION.  71 

small    islands.     I    found    afterwards    that    the    deep 
channel  is  close  in  shore,  by  the  village. 

Our  prospects  were  far  from  pleasing  when  we  found 
that  our  vessel  was  really  "hard  and  fast"  on  that  bank, 
and  that  the  shaft,  by  attempting  to  back  the  engine, 
had  broken  close  by  the  propeller.  We  looked  at  the 
fleet  of  canoes  that  had  for  some  time  been  following 
us,  at  the  crowd  of  noisy  savages  in  front  of  the  village, 
and  at  each  other  with  something  like  dismay.  How- 
ever there  was  no  time  to  be  lost.  The  water  was  fast 
leaving  our  vessel,  and  it  might  be  serious  to  allow  the 
Elleiigowan  (from  her  peculiar  shape)  to  heel  over  on 
her  side.  For  such  emergencies,  which  often  occurred 
in  those  days,  we  carried  eight  good  chocks  or  spars, 
by  means  of  which  we  kept  the  vessel  upright  until 
the  return  of  the  tide.  At  low  water  it  was  only  ankle 
deep  around  the  Elleiigowan.  We  hoisted  the  pro- 
peller on  deck,  and  got  all  ready  for  the  midnight  high 
tide.  The  natives  watched  our  movements  in  the 
evening,  but  did  not  come  near,  and  were  probably 
very  much  surprised  and  disappointed  to  find  next 
morning  that  we  had  disappeared.  With  two  boats 
towing  we  w^ent  with  the  tide,  anchoring  when  it 
changed,  and  thus,  in  three  days,  got  out  of  the  river. 
At  some  of  our  anchorages  we  managed  to  hold  friendly 
intercourse  with  the  natives,  and  thus  paved  the  way 
for  the  establishment  of  our  mission  amongst  them 
two  or  three  years  afterwards.  At  the  mouth  of  the 
river  we  got  a  light,  fair  wind,  to  which  we  spread  our 
sails  and  soon  ran  across  Torres  Straits  to  Cape  York, 
where  our  engineer  and  captain  in  a  few  days  re- 
paired the  damage  with  the  duplicate  shaft,  etc.,  which 
I  had  taken  the  precaution  to  bring  from  England. 


72  AMONG   THE  CANNIBALS, 

Failing  to  find  high  land,  or  healthy  and  populous 
localities  up  those  large  rivers  in  the  Papuan  Gulf, 
and  seeing  that  the  teachers  were  suffering  and  dying 
around  us,  both  in  the  Papuan  Gulf  and  at  Port 
Moresby,  I  determined  to  try  the  east  end  of  the  pen- 
insula. It  seemed  from  the  narrow  and  mountainous 
character  of  the  peninsula  that  we  might  find  it  more 
healthy  at  the  extreme  end,  working  from  East  and 
South  Capes  westward.  It  was  clearly  our  duty  to 
make  every  effort  to  find  tolerably  healthy  localities, 
and  with  this  object  I  arranged  to  visit  China  Straits, 
and  find  out  what  the  place  was  like,  before  coming 
to  any  decision  about  forming  a  mission  there.  Call- 
ing at  Port  Moresby,  I  consulted  with  Mr.  Lawes,  who 
joined  me  in  this  expedition.  We  visited  many  places 
on  the  coast  on  our  way  down,  and  made  some  impor- 
tant discoveries  of  harbours,  lagoons,  rivers,  islands, 
and  passes ;  amongst  which  may  be  mentioned,  as 
likely  to  become  useful  for  commerce,  a  fine  harbour 
off  the  town  off  Kerepunu,  in  Hood  Bay ;  Mullens' 
Harbour,  in  Orangerie  Bay  ;  and  Stacey  Island,  which 
was  supposed  to  be  South  Cape,  between  which  and 
the  mainland  there  is  splendid  anchorage  for  vessels 
of  any  size,  and  plenty  of  good  water. 

Ourvoyage  proved  most  interesting  and  encouraging. 
The  natives  were  numerous,  and  with  the  exception 
of  Orangerie  Bay  apparently  disposed  to  be  friendly. 
At  that  place  however  we  should  probably  have  had 
serious  trouble  if  we  had  not  had  steam  power.  The 
savages, who  in  that  district  are  cannibals, tried  to  pick  a 
quarrel  with  some  of  our  crew  who  were  cutting  fuel  on 
shore.  They  afterwards  came  off  in  large  numbers  and 
crowded  our  deck,  and  became  very  impudent.    With- 


EXPLORATION.  73 

out  noticing  it,  the  anchor  was  quietly  heaved  up,  the 
propeller  set  in  motion,  and  the  vessel  slowly  moved 
out  of  the  harbour.  The  natives,  in  the  midst  of 
their  excitement,  did  not  at  first  observe  this.  When 
it  was  noticed,  and  the  attention  of  the  crowd  called 
to  it,  the  effect  was  most  ludicrous.  Whatever  their 
ideas  might  have  been  about  taking  our  vessel,  they 
were  instantly  changed  to  anxiety  and  impatience  to 
leave  it.  We  never  had  our  deck  cleared  in  so  short 
a  time.  They  tumbled  over  the  side  in  a  most  extra- 
ordinary manner.  Some  dropping  into  canoes,  some 
on  to  catamarans,  others  into  the  sea,  in  the  wildest 
confusion,  whilst  we  steamed  quietly  away.  In  China 
Straits,  which  Captain  Moresby  had  discovered  the 
year  before,  there  appeared  to  be  likely  places  for 
mission  stations,  and  it  seemed  that  this  very  popu- 
lous district  might  be  worked  from  a  central  station 
on  one  of  the  islands  with  very  fair  prospects  of  suc- 
cess. This  visit  led  to  the  formation  of  the  third 
branch  of  our  New  Guinea  Mission  in  the  following 
year. 

In  this  brief  account  of  exploration  in  those  first 
years,  I  must  not  omit  to  mention  two  of  our  most  im- 
portant discoveries.  During  the  south-east  monsoon, 
many  vessels,  bound  from  Australia  to  China,  pass 
through  Torres  Straits,  where  it  is  well  known  a  large 
percentage  have  been  wrecked.  A  slight  error  in 
reckoning  or  in  the  chronometer  causes  the  captains 
to  miss  Bramble  Cay;  then,  to  avoid  what  looks  on  the 
charts  a  terribly  dangerous  place,  they  attempt  to  beat 
away  from  the  extensive  Warrior  Reef,  on  to  which 
some  of  them  are  driven  by  a  strong  wind  and  tide. 
To  our  surprise  and  delight  we  found  a  fine  passage 
6 


74  AMONG   THE  CANNIBALS. 

through  the  Warrior  Reef  at  the  north  end,  three  miles 
wide,  with  six  or  seven  fathoms  of  water.  There  is 
good  anchorage  on  the  lee  side  of  the  reef  This 
became  our  usual  way  between  the  Fly  River  and 
Thursday  Island,  being  much  pleasanter  and  safer  on 
the  lee  than  on  the  weather  side  of  this  long  and 
dangerous  reef  Being  the  discoverer,  I  named  the 
passage  "  Missionary  Passage." 

The  other  important  discovery  I  made  about  this 
time,  when  begitming  the  Fly  River  mission,  was  a 
good  passage  into  the  river,  about  eight  miles  to  the 
eastward  of  Bampton  Island,  with  an  even,  sandy 
bottom,  gradually  shallowing  from  nine  to  three 
fathoms  and  a  half,  and  then  as  gradually  deepening 
to  six  fathoms  ;  and  a  fine  harbour,  formed  by  three 
islands  situated  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  safe  at  all 
seasons,  and  smooth  as  a  mill  pond,  with  six  fathoms 
of  water  close  to  the  shore.  Here  we  commenced 
our  mission  work  in  the  Fly  River,  and  to  this  port 
we  conducted  the  Australian  geographical  exploring 
party,  led  by  Captain  Everill  ;  and  this  port  is  likely 
to  become  of  great  service  in  Fly  River  commerce. 

Whilst  I  was  thus  engaged  in  becoming  acquainted 
with  the  western  district  and  extending  the  mission, 
my  colleague,  Mr.  Lawes,  was  also  busy  at  Port 
Moresby,  which  he  decided  to  make  the  headquarters 
of  that  branch  of  the  mission,  and  along  the  coast 
eastward  as  far  as  Hood  Bay,  forming  mission  stations, 
becoming  acquainted  with  the  people  and  their  lan- 
guage, and  attending  to  the  sick  and  dying  teachers. 
His  chief  difficulty  and  greatest  trouble  and  anxiety 
arose  from  the  sickly  nature  of  the  climate,  which 
caused  an  appalling  mortality  amongst  the  teachers. 


EXPLORATION.  •  75 

The  little  mission  cemetery  of  two  years'  growth, 
situated  behind  the  village,  with  its  eighteen  graves, 
told  a  sad  tale. 

Owing  to  the  unhealthiness  of  the  district  the 
directors  appointed  a  medical  missionary  to  be 
associated  with  Mr.  Lawes,  the  son  of  the  well 
known  missionary  who  was  the  founder  and  for  so 
many  years  the  head  of  the  training  institution  in 
Samoa,  Dr.  Turner.  This  appointment  however  was 
no  benefit  to  the  mission,  as  the  young  doctor  only 
remained  a  few  months  in  the  field.  His  wife  (an 
excellent  Christian  lady)  died  from  the  fever  of  the 
country,  and  he  returned  to  England  with  his  infant 
child.  Mr.  Lawes  also  left  Port  Moresby  at  the  same 
time,  and  ^ent  his  wife  and  child  to  England,  informing 
the  directors  that  he  had  given  the  place  a  fair  trial  of 
two  and  a  half  years,  and  considered  it  (Port  Moresby) 
quite  unfit  for  a  place  of  residence  for  Europeans. 
Those  who  know  Mr.  Lawes  will  feel  that  he  is  not  the 
man  to  give  up  readily  anything  he  has  undertaken, 
so  that  his  decision  about  Port  Moresby  was  not  a 
hasty  one.  That  season  however  had  been  an  un- 
usually bad  one.  Not  only  foreigners,  but  the  natives 
themselves  had  suffered  severely  from  the  fatal  fever. 

Mr.  Lawes  lived  with  us  some  time  at  Cape  York, 
visiting  the  teachers  on  the  peninsula  occasionally, 
until  the  arrival  of  Rev.  James  Chalmers,  who  had 
been  appointed  to  the  New  Guinea  Mission.  Most 
of  the  Eastern  Polynesian  teachers  there  having 
come  from  Rarotonga,  where  he  had  been  labouring 
for  many  years,  his  presence  as  their  missionary  and 
his  knowledge  of  their  language,  combined  with  his 
energetic  spirit  and  great  influence  over  them,  was  like 


76  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

new  life  to  them.  He  had  brought  a  number  with  him 
from  Rarotonga,  to  take  the  places  of  those  who  had 
fallen,  and  to  extend  the  mission.  Meeting  these  had 
the  happiest  effects  upon  their  friends  in  the  mission. 
From  that  time  our  mission  took  a  new  departure. 
Mr.  Lawes  left  on  a  much-needed  furlough,  whilst 
Mr.  Chalmers  and  I  decided  to  try  the  east  end  of  the 
peninsula,  which  seemed  to  Mr.  Lawes  and  me,  the 
year  before,  to  offer  such  fair  prospects  for  mission 
work.  Before  doing  so  however  we  made  a  short 
trip  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  into  the  interior 
from  Port  Moresby,  in  order  to  visit  the  hill  tribes, 
and  see  what  inducement  there  was  to  establish  an 
inland  mission  in  that  locality.  The  very  mountainous 
character  of  the  country,  and  the  sparse  population, 
scattered  on  the  tops  of  hills  and  mountains,  many 
of  the  houses  being  built  in  the  forks  of  trees,  con- 
vinced us  that  on  the  peninsula,  as  in  the  Papuan 
Gulf,  the  population  is  mostly  on  the  coast,  where 
the  large  and  numerous  villages  have  the  stronger 
claims. 

Before  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Chalmers,  I  had  selected 
six  of  the  best  Lifu  and  Mar6  teachers  for  this  East 
Cape  mission,  and  arranged  that  they  should  leave 
their  wives  with  Mrs.  McFarlane,  until  we  got  the 
mission  fairly  established,  and  learnt  from  experience 
the  nature  of  the  climate.  Mr.  Chalmers  joined  with 
six  of  the  Rarotongans  he  had  brought  with  him ;  and 
as  his  wife  accompanied  him,  their  wives  accompanied 
her.  We  arranged  that  he,  with  the  Rarotongans, 
should  take  the  South  Cape  district,  whilst  I,  with  the 
Lifu  teachers,  took  that  of  East  Cape.  He  selected, 
as  his  headquarters,  a  small  village  on  Stacey  Island, 


EXPLORATION.  77 

near  South  Cape,  which  he  regarded  as  the  most  cen- 
tral and  suitable  point  from  which  to  work  the  dis- 
trict. I  selected  an  island  in  China  Straits,  as  being 
the  most  central  and  healthy-looking  place  in  the 
East  Cape  district.  We  each  located  our  teachers  at 
what  we  considered  the  most  healthy  points,  and 
threw  ourselves  heartily  into  the  work  of  clearing  and 
building  at  our  central  stations.  The  natives  were 
a  wild  set  of  cannibals,  both  troublesome  and  dan- 
gerous, easily  excited  but  fortunately  easily  appeased. 
It  was  a  new  experience  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Chalmers, 
who  had  been  accustomed  to  the  civilized  natives  of 
Rarotonga  ;  but,  like  true  missionaries,  they  adapted 
themselves  to  the  circumstances,  and  settled  down 
amongst  this  savage  people,  to  learn  their  language 
and  improve  their  condition. 

Mr.  Chalmers  located  his  teachers  between  South 
Cape  and  Orangerie  Bay ;  but  to  our  great  disap- 
pointment and  grief  the  place  proved  exceedingly 
unhealthy,  even  more  so  than  Port  Moresby.  Mrs. 
Chalmers  and  four  of  the  teachers  died,  and  Mr. 
Chalmers  returned  to  Port  Moresby,  to  take  charge 
of  the  Rarotongan  teachers  in  that  district.  All  the 
stations  in  the  South  Cape  district  were  broken  up, 
except  the  one  on  Stacey  Island,  where  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Chalmers  had  lived  for  a  time. 

The  death  of  Mrs.  Chalmers  was  not  only  a  great 
loss  to  her  husband,  but  a  serious  loss  to  the  mission, 
especially  to  the  Rarotongan  teachers  and  their  wives. 
Like  Mrs.  Turner,  she  had  come  to  New  Guinea  with 
a  malady  which  the  climate  rapidly  developed.  Her 
family  in  New  Zealand  and  her  friends  in  Australia, 
all  urged  her  to  remain  in  Sydney,  whilst  Mr.  Chal- 


Jr8  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

mers  paid  the  desired  visit  to  New  Guinea,  before  pro- 
ceeding to  England  on  furlough,  as  they  intended. 
She  declared  however  that,  having  no  family,  she 
would  go  where  her  husband  went.  Her  death  led 
Mr.  Chalmers  to  postpone  his  visit  to  England,  and  to 
devote  himself  to  the  extension  of  the  mission  in  the 
Port  Moresby  district,  making  his  home  with  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lawes.  His  love  of  travel  and  missionary  zeal 
led  to  numerous  journeys,  of  which  he  has  given 
detailed  accounts  in  "  Life  and  Adventure  in  New 
Guinea."  These  however  have  all  been  confined  to 
the  south  side  of  the  south-east  peninsula.  He  has 
not  yet  visited  the  Fly  River,  nor  indeed  any  part  of 
the  great  body  of  the  island,  so  that  there  still  remains 
plenty  of  congenial  work  for  our  friend  in  British 
New  Guinea. 

In  establishing  the  East  Cape  branch  of  our  mis- 
sion, I  determined  to  pursue  the  same  plan  as  I  had 
adopted  in  the  west ;  namely,  to  form  a  station  on  a 
tolerably  healthy  island  off  the  coast,  as  a  retreat  in 
cases  of  serious  illness.  Teste  Island  became  to  the 
mission  at  the  east  end  what  Darnley  was  in  the 
west — a  city  of  refuge.  There  we  formed  our  first 
mission  station  in  that  district,  which  has  grown  and 
prospered  ever  since.  The  next  was  on  the  mainland, 
in  Milne  Bay,  near  East  Cape  ;  then  in  Discovery 
Bay ;  and  after  thoroughly  examining  the  different 
points  of  the  district,  I  decided  to  form  the  central 
station  on  a  small  island  in  China  Straits,  called  Din- 
ner Island  by  Captain  Moresby,  between  which  and 
the  mainland  and  Heath  Island,  there  is  a  splendid 
harbour.  I  purchased  this  small  island  from  the 
natives,  for  the  London   Missionary  Society,  for  the 


EXPLORATION.  79 

headquarters  of  our  mission  in  that  part  of  New 
Guinea,  and  had  it  cleared,  and  houses  put  up,  and 
vegetable  gardens  made.  It  soon  became  known  to 
the  surrounding  tribes  as  neutral  ground.  We  were 
visited  from  all  parts,  and  sometimes  had  over  a 
hundred  canoes  and  catamarans  at  the  place  at  one 
time.  From  the  first  we  were  greatly  encouraged 
by  the  attitude  of  the  natives.  Although  cannibals 
and  notorious  thieves,  they  were  friendly,  willing  to 
help  us,  and  evidently  anxious  that  we  should  re- 
main amongst  them.  They  probably  thought  that  it 
would  be  more  profitable  to  fleece  us  than  to  eat  us, 
seeing  that  we  formed  the  connecting  link  between 
them  and  the  land  of  hoop  iron  and  beads  and 
hatchets. 

The  opening  up  of  the  eastern  branch  of  our  mis- 
sion was  an  interesting  experience.  As  in  the  west, 
the  captain  of  our  vessel  would  not  go  near  the  main- 
land  at  East  Cape,  owing  to  the  dangerous  character 
of  the  navigation,  so  that  we  had  to  go  in  boats,  there 
being  no  one  to  introduce  us,  and  we  utterly  ignorant 
of  the  language  of  the  people,  and  they  of  ours.  The 
teachers,  as  usual,  worked  well.  They  soon  gained 
the  confidence  of  the  people,  who  assisted  them  in 
erecting  good  houses  and  chapels  ;  after  which  their 
wives  joined  them,  and  commenced  work  amongst 
the  women.  They  suffered  however,  as  in  the  Port 
Moresby  and  western  districts,  from  the  deadly  fever 
of  the  country.  Some  died,  others  had  to  be  removed  ; 
and  I  was  obliged  to  give  up  all  hope  of  finding  suit- 
able localities  in  New  Guinea  for  our  South  Sea  Is- 
lands teachers.  It  became  painfully  evident  that  New 
Guinea  must  be  evangelized,  if  evangelized  at  all,  by 


8o  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

New  Guineans.  The  responsibility  of  bringing  South 
Sea  islanders  to  a  place  where  half  of  them  died  was 
too  great,  hence  my  resolve  to  establish  the  "  Papuan 
Institute,"  and  train  a  native  agency  from  amongst 
the  people  themselves. 


Y  object  was  to  found  an  institu- 
tion that  should  be  worthy  the 
London  Missionary  Society 
and  the  New  Guinea  Mission, 
and  work  it  on  somewhat 
different  lines  from  similar 
institutions  in  the  South  Seas, 
so  as  to  meet  the  peculiar  wants  of  this  mission  ;  viz. 
to  assemble  promising  young  men  and  boys  from 
different  points  of  the  mission,  speaking  different 
languages,  at  a  central  station  ;  and  there,  removed 
from  their  evil  surroundings  and  family  influences, 
teach  them,  making  the  English  language  and  an  indus- 
trial school  prominent  features  in  the  course  of  their 


82  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS,.  . 

instruction.  Like  most  schemes  that  verge  from 
the  beaten  track,  it  met  with  considerable  opposi- 
tion, being  declared  "  impracticable,"  "  Utopian,"  etc., 
which  led  to  difficulty  and  delay  in  obtaining  the 
sanction  of  the  directors.  But  as  in  my  recommenda- 
tion to  provide  a  small  steamer  for  pioneering  work 
during  the  first  few  years  of  the  mission,  the  question 
was  solved  by  Miss  Baxter  supplying  the  steamer ; 
so  in  the  case  of  the  Papuan  Institute,  the  same  kind 
lady  offered  to  provide  institution  buildings  and 
;^IC)0  a  year  towards  the  annual  expenses  of  the  in- 
stitution. These  are  the  kind  of  arguments  that  make 
a  quick  impression  upon  directors. 

The  first  thing  was  to  select  the  most  suitable  site 
for  such  an  institution.  The  place  required  to  be 
healthy  for  a  sanatorium  for  the  mission  ;  fertile^  in 
order  to  supply  plenty  of  native  food  for  the  institu- 
tion ;  and  central^  for  conveniently  reaching  all  parts 
of  the  Papuan  Gulf:  and  these  requirements  could 
only  be  found  on  one  of  the  islands  of  the  two  small 
groups  situated  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Fly  River, 
the  Darnley  and  Murray  groups,  which  are  totally 
distinct  in  their  physical  features  from  all  the  other 
islands  in  Torres  Straits,  bearing  a  luxuriant  tropical 
vegetation  like  the  adjacent  mainland  of  New  Guinea, 
whilst  the  other  islands  are  barren,  like  the  adjacent 
mainland  of  Australia.  We  decided  upon  Murray 
Island  on  account  of  its  population  and  position, 
there  being  between  300  and  400  natives  on  the  island, 
and  its  being  a  little  out  of  the  track  of  vessels,  which 
is  a  decided  advantage  for  educational  purposes. 

As  Murray  Island  is  the  lona  of  New  Guinea, 
it   may   be   interesting   to   give   some  account  of  it 


THE  PAPUAN  INSTITUTE.  83 

in  connection  with  the  establishment  of  the  Papuan 
Institute.  It  is  about  two  miles  long  and  one  broad, 
and  is  surrounded  by  a  reef  which  extends  half  a  mile 
from  the  shore  on  the  south-east  side,  but  on  the  north- 
west is  only  about  100  yards  wide.  The  south-west 
end  of  the  island  rises  rather  abruptly  from  the  sea  in 
a  conical  peaked  hill  to  the  height  of  750  feet,  from 
the  summit  of  which  a  narrow-backed  ridge  runs  in 
a  north-easterly  direction,  the  length  of  the  island 
gradually  inclining,  until  it  terminates  near  the  end  of 
the  island,  about  1 50  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
The  land  from  the  top  of  this  ridge  on  the  north-west 
side  of  the  island  slopes  at  about  fifteen  degrees  down 
to  within  eighty  yards  of  the  sea,  between  which  and 
the  beach  there  is  a  fine  belt  of  planting  ground, 
where  the  natives  have  their  houses.  After  descend- 
ing 400  feet  from  the  summit  of  the  cone,  the  interior 
of  the  island  is  almost  level  with  the  ridge  in  question, 
with  a  similar  slope  on  the  south-east  side.  This 
table-land  (slightly  depressed  in  the  middle)  abounds 
with  cocoanut  trees  and  tropical  fruits,  and  is  exceed- 
ingly fertile.  It  is  evident  that  an  active  volcano 
formerly  existed  on  the  island,  the  crater  being  at  the 
south-west  end,  from  which  the  conical  peak  and 
narrow  ridge  have  been  formed.  As  one  looks  on 
the  huge  piles  of  trap  rock  here,  and  on  the  two 
adjacent  small  islands,  the  mind  naturally  wanders 
back  to  the  pre-historic  era,  when  the  silence  of  many 
a  dark  night  was  broken  by  the  booming  of  eruptions, 
and  the  hill  sides  were  aglow  with  molten  lava,  creep- 
ing down  like  a  thing  of  life,  and  the  surrounding 
waters  danced  and  sparkled  in  the  glare  of  this 
monster  beacon. 


84  AMONG    THE  CANNIBALS. 

Disintegration  has  long  been  doing  its  work,  and 
now  the  whole  island  (hill-sides  included)  is  covered 
with  a  deep,  rich  soil.  The  mission  houses  are  erected 
on  the  slope  on  the  north-west  side  of  the  island, 
lOO  feet  above  the  sea  level,  the  Papuan  Institute 
buildings  being  on  the  level  below.  The  situation  is 
healthy,  convenient,  and  pleasant.  The  anchorage  is 
opposite  the  mission  premises,  and  is  very  good  during 
the  south-east  season,  or  about  nine  months  in  the 
year.  In  the  north-west  season  it  is  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  island  inside  the  reef,  but  only  suitable  for 
small  vessels.  The  island  being  high,  and  only  four 
miles  from  the  great  barrier  reef,  forms  a  good  mark 
from  the  gulf.  There  are  several  clear  breaks  in  the 
reef  behind  the  island,  through  which  vessels  of  lOO 
tons  might,  with  a  fair  wind,  enter  with  perfect 
safety.  Flinders  Entrance  however  is  convenient, 
and  may  be  used  at  all  seasons,  for  vessels  of  any 
size.  There  are  also  three  passages  on  the  Torres 
Straits  side :  the  Cumberland  Passage,  one  by  the 
barrier  reef,  and  one  by  way  of  Darnley  Island.  So 
that  although  the  island  is  surrounded  by  reefs,  it  is 
by  no  means  so  difficult  to  get  at  as  a  stranger  is  apt 
to  suppose. 

The  natives,  when  visited  by  Captain  Flinders  in 
1802,  are  described  as  being  a  warlike  race,  and  very 
dexterous  in  the  use  of  their  weapons,  which  consisted 
of  bows  and  arrows  of  a  very  superior  construction, 
requiring  great  strength  and  skill  in  their  use.  They 
possessed  large  and  fast  canoes,  capable  of  carrying 
eighteen  or  twenty  men,  and  were  regarded  as  rather 
formidable  enemies.  Their  canoes  and  weapons  were 
obtained  from  the  Fly  River,  in  exchange  for  shell 


THE  PAPUAN  INSTITUTE.  85 

ornaments.  Although  at  one  time  great  warriors, 
they  are  now  at  peace  with  their  neighbours  and 
amongst  themselves.  They  have  but  few  wants, 
which  are  abundantly  supplied  by  the  eagerness  of 
the  pearl-shellers  to  get  vegetables.  The  old  people 
have  but  little  ambition  to  improve  their  surroundings, 
although  the  boys  and  girls  are  bright  and  intelligent, 
and  anxious  to  learn.  The  whole  population  has 
embraced  Christianity,  and  attends  public  worship, 
and  all  have  family  worship  at  their  homes.  There  is 
amongst  them  a  growing  trade,  and  a  growing  educa- 
tion, which  is  gradually  overcoming  their  indolence. 
The  island  has  proved  a  very  suitable  "  city  of  re- 
fuge," sanatorium,  and  educational  centre. 

Having  decided  upon  the  site  for  the  Papuan  In- 
stitute, the  next  thing  was  to  find  pupils  willing  to 
leave  their  homes  to  be  educated  at  Murray  Island, 
and  this  could  only  be  accomplished  after  having 
gained  the  confidence  of  the  people.  My  plan  was  to 
obtain  a  few  of  the  first  converts  of  the  mission,  to 
form  a  nucleus  around  which  others  might  be  gathered, 
and  by  whom  they  might  be  influenced  for  good  ;  and 
so  gradually  create  a  desire  to  learn,  and  a  desire  to 
be  good  and  to  do  good.  I  selected  nine  of  our  most 
promising  and  energetic  young  converts  for  this  pur- 
pose, without  telling  them  what  I  hoped  they  would 
become.  One  of  our  South  Sea  Island  teachers 
happened  to  say  to  one  of  them  that  they  would 
become  pioneer  teachers  to  the  people  of  the  Fly  River, 
which  led  to  a  good  deal  of  fear  and  trembling  and 
anxiety,  that  could  only  be  removed  by  my  assuring 
them  that  they  would  not  be  sent  anywhere  in  that 
capacity  unless  it  was  their  own  expressed  wish  to  go. 


86  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

It  was  evident  that  they  were  not  prepared  to  face 
their  old  enemies  with  no  weapons  but  the  word  of 
God.  They  Httle  thought  then  what  they  would 
become  at  their  own  earnest  request. 

After  these  yourkg  men  and  their  wives — most  of 
them  being  married — had  been  with  us  for  nearly 
three  years,  and  had  become  better  acquainted  with 
Christian  truth  and  Christian  duty,  and  were  amongst 
the  first  members  of  the  infant  Church  established  at 
Murray  Island,  and  were  looking  forward  with  earnest 
expectation  to  being  pioneers  of  the  gospel,  which 
was  becoming  to  them  more  and  more  precious,  the 
time  appeared  to  have  arrived  for  making  the  attempt 
to  obtain  sixty  or  eighty  young  men  and  boys  from 
our  stations  and  villages  with  which  we  were  well 
acquainted,  and  so  formally  establish  the  "  Papuan 
Industrial  School  and  Teachers'  Seminary,"  which  had 
in  the  meantime  received  the  sanction  of  the  board  of 
directors  in  London,  and  the  pecuniary  support  of  a 
kind  friend,  as  already  intimated. 

From  the  time  that  we  commenced  the  mission  on 
Dauan  and  Saibai,  in  1871,  I  looked  to  those  islands  as 
the  stepping-stones  to  the  great  body  of  New  Guinea, 
about  three  miles  distant,  and  hoped  and  believed 
and  prayed  that  the  savage,  skull-hunting  tribes  who 
lived  there  would  furnish  earnest,  energetic,  enthu- 
siastic pioneer  teachers  for  the  sickly  adjacent  country 
to  which  they  were  accustomed.  For  years  these 
people  refused  to  embrace  Christianity,  because  it 
condemned  skull-hunting  and  war,  in  which  they 
found  their  delight.  Twice  the  South  Sea  Island 
teacher  had  to  fly  for  his  kfe,  and  once  they  attempted 
to  poison    him.      At   last   however  they   yielded    to 


THE  PAPUAN  INSTITUTE,  87 

better  influences,  burnt  their  idols,  and  assured  me 
that  they  had  embraced  Christianity.  On  my  next 
visit  I  determined  to  test  their  profession,  and  ac- 
cordingly informed  them  that  we  were  commencing 
a  large  school  at  Murray  Island  to  teach  them  good 
and  useful  things,  and  that  I  wished  them  to  let  me 
have  tzventy  of  their  best  young  men  and  boys  to  ac- 
company me  to  the  institution  for  instruction,  which 
they  would  no  doubt  be  anxious  for  their  sons  to 
receive  now  that  they  had  really  embraced  the  gospel. 
I  do  not  suppose  they  expected  to  have  their  faith 
tested  in  this  way  ;  but  they  were  equal  to  the  occa- 
sion, and  brought  off  to  the  Ellengowan  next  morning 
twenty-three  of  their  sons,  some  of  them  fine-looking 
young  fellows,  and  others  interesting,  sharp  lads,  I 
did  not  give  presents  of  any  kind  to  the  fathers  or 
friends,  lest  it  might  be  taken  as  a  sort  of  payment. 
They  were  given  up  freely,  and  have  remained  wil- 
lingly (after  the  first  six  months),  visiting  their  homes 
once  a  year  during  the  vacation.  From  Mabuiag  I 
obtained  a  similar  number  in  a  similar  way.  The  rest 
came  from  Poigu,  Katau,  Tureture,  and  Bampton  ; 
also  a  few  from  Darnley  and  Murray,  numbering  in 
all  about  a  hundred  persons. 

The  Papuan  Institute  is  divided  into  two  branches, 
the  industrial  school  and  teachers'  seminary — the 
former  being  the  feeder  of  the  latter.  Several  who 
have  joined  the  Church  and  entered  the  latter  came 
to  the  industrial  school  as  heathen  young  men  from 
heathen  villages,  and  are  now  able  and  faithful  evan- 
gelists on  the  New  Guinea  coast.  Our  object  has 
been  to  create  a  healthy  tone  and  missionary  spirit  in 
the  institution,  and  I  am  happy  to  say  that  we  have 


«8  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

SO  far  succeeded,  that,  whereas  it  was  difficult  at  first 
to  get  pupils  and  retain  them,  now  there  is  not  one 
of  them  who  would  not  consider  it  a  disgrace  to  be 
expelled,  and  they  all  seem  glad  to  return  after  the 
holidays. 

For  the  industrial  school  department  we  have 
secured  the  services  of  Mr.  Robert  Bruce,  a  yacht- 
builder  from  Glasgow,  whose  work  there  has  been 
favourably  noticed  in  the  public  journals  of  that  city. 
He  and  Mrs.  Bruce  are  members  of  the  Church,  and 
in  sympathy  with  the  mission.  We  have  been  very 
busy  in  this  department  since  it  was  established.  The 
institution  building — sixty  feet  long  by  thirty  feet 
wdde,  made  in  Sydney — has  been  erected  ;  also  a 
house  for  my  colleague,  Rev.  Harry  Scott.  A  work- 
shop, sixty  feet  long  by  twenty-five  feet  wide,  has 
been  built,  in  which  are  to  be  found  carpenters' 
benches,  blacksmith's  forge,  a  turning-lathe  for  wood 
and  iron,  with  iron  bed  and  slide-rest  complete,  cir- 
cular-saw bench,  with  self-acting  gear.  A  house  has 
been  built  for  the  assistant  teacher,  who  is  a  South 
Sea  islander  ;  also  two  rows  of  cottages  for  the  pupils, 
all  of  which  are  built  of  lath  and  plaster,  with  corru- 
gated iron  roofs.  The  frame  of  a  house  has  also  been 
prepared  for  our  central  station  on  the  Fly  River, 
where  the  mission  there  was  commenced.  The  old 
Venture^  a  five-ton  craft  of  light  draught  that  I  bought 
for  ;^30  after  the  wreck  of  the  Mayri^  has  been  almost 
rebuilt,  and  fitted  up  for  our  work  on  the  Fly  River. 
The  yacht  Mary,  about  twenty  tons,  has  been  a  great 
undertaking.  All  the  wood  was  cut  at  Murray  Island, 
dragged  from  the  bush  over  the  hill,  and  sawn  on  the 
premises,  and  the  work  done  by  Mr.  Bruce  and  the 


THE  PAPUAN  INSTITUTE.  89- 

pupils.  She  is  strongly  built,  and  most  conveniently- 
fitted  up.  The  cabin  provides  comfortable  sleeping 
accommodation  for  five  persons,  and  is  neatly  finished 
and  panelled.  Every  available  space  is  used  for  cup- 
boards, lockers,  etc.  The  fore  part  of  the  vessel  is 
fitted  up  for  the  crew,  and  there  also  is  sleeping  ac- 
commodation for  five  persons.  The  middle  portion 
is  large  and  airy,  and  as  all  the  ballast  (six  tons)  is 
under  the  flooring,  there  is  plenty  of  room  for  either 
natives  or  cargo.  There  is  no  necessity  to  carry  both 
at  the  same  time.  This  boat  has  been  built  expressly 
for  work  in  the  Papuan  Gulf  for  which  the  Ellen- 
gowan  is  too  large  ;  and,  having  nobody  to  please  in 
its  construction  but  ourselves,  we  have  what  is  now 
admitted  by  all  to  be  a  most  suitable  craft  for  the 
work.  In  addition  to  all  this,  my  own  house  has  been 
completed,  and  servants'  houses  built ;  and  a  gallery, 
desks,  and  forms  made  for  the  institution  building. 
Mission  boats  have  had  to  be  repaired,  and  an  im- 
mense quantity  of  timber  cut,  and  coral  collected  for 
making  lime  for  all  these  buildings.  So  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  industrial  school  is  no  mere  empty 
name,  but  that  solid,  needful  work  has  been  done, 
and,  in  consequence,  much  useful  experience  gained. 

Now  we  come  to  the  seminary,  in  which  the  young 
men  are  specially  trained  for  the  real  work  of  pioneer 
teachers.  Before  they  enter  this  department  they  are 
expected  to  be  able  to  read  and  write  tolerably  well, 
and  to  be  acquainted  with  the  elements  of  arithmetic. 
They  then  receive  a  course  of  instruction  in  the  Eng- 
lish language,  geography,  practical  arithmetic,  object 
lessons,  Bible  history,  and  indeed  every  subject  which 
the  portion  of  Scripture  in  hand  suggests.     We  have 


90  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

also  a  sermon  class  four  days  in  the  week,  the  outlines 
of  each  sermon  being  copied  into  their  note-books  for 
future  use.  On  the  arrival  of  Rev.  Harry  Scott,  a 
student  of  Cheshunt  College,  to  be  my  colleague,  he 
and  his  amiable  and  devoted  wife  threw  themselves 
heartily  into  the  work.  Mr.  Scott  relieved  me  of 
most  of  the  work  in  the  institution,  allowing  me  more 
time  for  translating,  and  superintending  the  teachers 
in  this  rapidly  extending  branch  of  the  mission. 

Over  twenty  students  have  passed  through  tha 
Papuan  Institute,  and  been  appointed  to  stations 
where  they  are  doing  a  good  work,  sixteen  in  and  near 
the  Fly  River,  and  six  on  islands  in  Torres  Straits.  It 
is  six  years  since  we  received  any  teachers  from  the 
South  Sea  Islands  for  this  branch  of  the  mission,  and 
the  old  ones  are  being  gradually  returned  to  their 
homes,  being  unsuitable  for  the  sickly  climate  of  New 
Guinea,  and  their  places  are  being  filled  with  teachers 
from  the  Papuan  Institute.  Thus  the  mission  is 
fairly  established  on  a  sound  basis,  and  reasonable 
hopes  may  be  entertained  of  its  steady  progress.  The 
Fly  and  adjacent  rivers  are  evidently  the  great  water- 
ways into  the  interior  of  New  Guinea.  The  popula- 
tion in  their  vicinity  is  most  numerous,  the  land  the 
most  fertile  and  heavily  timbered,  and  the  climate 
the  most  sickly,  necessitating  trained  pioneers  from 
amongst  the  people  themselves ;  hence  the  import- 
ance of  the  Papuan  Institute. 

Having  tried  the  Papuan  Institute  for  the  Gulf 
district,  and  found  that  it  worked  well,  a  similar  train- 
ing institution  was  started  at  Port  Moresby,  for  which 
ten  or  twelve  boys  were  collected  from  different  parts 
of  the  peninsula,  as  far  as  East  Cape.     This  institu- 


THE  PAPUAN  INSTITUTE,  91 

lion  is  also  growing  in  numbers  and  power.  It  has 
already  sent  forth  eight  trained  New  Guineans  as 
native  teachers,  who,  like  those  in  the  western  branch, 
are  doing  good  service  amongst  their  countrymen; 
Another  such  seminary  is  about  to  be  established  in 
the  eastern  branch  of  the  mission,  to  which  two  mis- 
sionaries have  been  appointed.  These  three  institu- 
tions, kept  in  good  working  order,  will  soon  supply 
the  great  want  of  the  New  Guinea  Mission — a  good 
native  agency  raised  from  amongst  the  people  themselves. 


TRADING    CANOES 

V. 


MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS   OF 
THE    CANNIBALS. 


E  now  come  to  consider  the 
natives  of  New  Guinea,  and  are 
met  at  once  by  one  or  two  very- 
interesting  ethnological  ques- 
tions, upon  which  some  leading 
anthropologists  take  different 
views,  owing  to  the  scanty  and 
contradictory  nature  of  the  information  received.  It 
is  unfortunate  for  the  elucidation  of  these  questions 
that  so  much  is  written  by  many  who  know  so  little 
of  the  subject.  Almost  every  visitor  to  New  Guinea 
considers  himself  qualified  to  pronounce  upon  matters 
which  those  who  have  lived  amongst  the  people  for 


94  .AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

years  and  studied  feel  reluctant  to  hazard  an  opinion; 
and  these  statements  appear,  not  only  in  newspapers, 
reviews,  and  books,  but  also  in  papers  read  before 
scientific  societies,  where  the  natives  of  the  south-east 
peninsula  have  been  described  as  Malays,  although  in 
the  description  the  writer  has  shown  that  he  was 
unacquainted  with  Malay  characteristics.  Drs.  Meyer, 
Beccari,  Micklucho  Maclay,  Signor  d'Albertis,  and 
Mr.  Wallace  can  speak  with  authority  on  these  topics, 
having  resided  amongst  the  natives  for  a  consider- 
able time,  and  made  them  their  special  study  ;  and 
having  done  this  at  different  parts  of  the  great  island 
very  much  enhances  the  value  of  the  conclusions 
to  w^hich  they  have  arrived.  These,  although  differ- 
ing in  some  respects,  all  concur  in  regarding  the 
tribes  throughout  New  Guinea  as  belonging  to  one 
race,  notwithstanding  the  common  opinion  that  they 
are  composed  of  two  distinct  races,  Papuan  and 
Malayan.  Having  seen  a  good  deal  of  the  native 
tribes  along  the  coast  from  the  Baxter  River  to  East 
Cape,  since  my  first  acquaintance  with  them  in  1 871, 
and  being  almost  the  only  European  who  has  visited 
the  bush  tribes  on  the  great  body  of  the  island,  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Fly,  Baxter,  and  Katau  rivers,  and 
having  taken  some  interest  in  these  questions,  I  may 
perhaps,  without  presumption,  claim  a  hearing  on  the 
ethnology  of  these  people. 

To  know  whence  the  natives  are,  we  must  find  out 
who  they  are  ;  and  this  can  only  be  done  by  observing 
what  they  are — what  they  are  chiefly  in  language, 
legends,  and  cult.  It  is  now  established  by  the  best 
philologists,  that  all  languages  in  their  development 
proceed  from  the  simple  to  the  complex,  from  mono- 


THEIR  MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS.  95 

syllables  to  polysyllables,  from  agglutinative  to  in- 
flexional. Thus  considered,  the  languages  of  Papua 
and  Polynesia,  through  all  their  various  dialects,  are 
amongst  the  oldest  living  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 
Dieffenbach,  in  his  "  Travels  in  New  Zealand,"  states 
that  "  the  Polynesian  language  is,  in  its  whole  forma- 
tion and  construction,  by  far  more  primitive  than  the 
Malayan  and  the  rest  of  the  J avano-Talago  languages. 
It  belongs  to  a  primitive  state  of  society."  If  this  be 
true  of  the  language  of  the  brown  Polynesians,  who 
are  considered  a  pre-Malayan  race,  how  much  more 
so  of  the  language  of  the  Papuans,  who  are  evidently 
a  much  older  race,  the  dialects  of  which  not  only 
greatly  differ  from  the  Polynesian,  but  differ  very  much 
from  each  other ! 

It  is  by  no  means  an  uncommon  opinion,  even 
amongst  intelligent  people,  that  degraded  savages, 
like  the  Papuans,  many  of  whom  are  notorious  canni- 
bals, have  no  proper  language  at  all,  and  that  the 
missionary  who  settles  amongst  them  has  to  make 
one  for  them.  I  remember  seeing,  in  a  well-known 
magazine,  an  account  of  the  distinguished  African 
missionary.  Dr.  Moffat,  written  by  a  reverend  doctor 
of  divinity,  who  stated  about  the  missionary  hero 
that  "  he  set  to  work  by  himself  and  made  a  language, 
reduced  it  to  writing,  taught  it  to  the  natives,  (!)  and 
then  commenced  a  translation  of  the  Bible."  This 
idea  of  a  missionary  making  a  language  is  rather 
amusing,  considering  the  difficulty  some  of  us  have 
in  acquiring  the  one  we  find  in  existence.  The  fact 
is,  that  a  missionary  has  simply  to  learn  the  language 
of  his  people,  write  it  out,  translate  into  it,  and  teach 
the  people  to  read.     It  does  not  follow  that  because 


96  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

a  tribe  or  nation  has  no  written  language,  that  their 
speech  is  merely  a  kind  of  gibberish,  not  having  any 
correct  sense,  sound,  or  grammar.  I  have  been  a 
missionary  amongst  the  Papuans  for  nearly  thirty 
years,  and  have  reduced  four  of  their  languages  to 
writing,  and  can  testify  that  in  some  respects  they 
are  even  superior  to  our  own.  Some  of  them  have 
a  court  and  a  common  language,  inclusive  and  ex- 
clusive pronouns,  dual  and  trinal  numbers,  seven  words 
for  the  pronoun  yoii,  all  differing  in  grade,  so  that  a 
person  may  be  complimented  or  insulted  by  the  you 
applied  to  him  ;  and  the  words  are  all  as  precise  in 
their  meanings  as  if  they  had  been  defined  by  John- 
son. The  grammar  is  as  regular  and  uniform  as  if  it 
had  been  formed  by  Lindley  Murray,  whilst  the  pro- 
nunciation is  as  exact  as  if  it  had  been  settled  and 
phonographed  by  Walker,  Webster,  or  Worcester ; 
thus  clearly  pointing  backward  to  a  higher  state  of 
civilization  from  which  they  are  falling.  How  came 
these  cannibals  to  have  such  a  language,  if  they  have 
not  brought  it  down  with  them  ?  If  all  our  civiliza- 
tion is  to  be  traced  to  a  slow  but  gradual  develop- 
ment from  a  state  of  primitive  barbarism  and  savage 
existence,  how  are  we  to  account  for  the  state  of  the 
natives  in  New  Guinea  and  the  South  Seas  ?  Here 
are  two  large  sections  of  prehistoric  men,  who  are 
still  in  the  age  of  stone  and  lake  villages.  Where  is 
the  evidence  that  they  are  advancing  in  civiliza- 
tion, intelligence,  morality,  or  happiness  ?  The  fact 
is,  there  is  abundant  evidence  that  both  races  are 
retrograding,  and  none  whatever  that  they  are  advanc- 
ing, except  from  influences  from  without. 

Since  I  became  acquainted  with  the  bush  tribes  in 


THEIR  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  97 

the  vicinity  of  the  Fly  River,  I  have  been  much  in- 
terested in  the  discovery  that  some  of  them  practise 
cremation,  waiting  and  mourning  till  the  body  is  re- 
duced to  ashes,  which  are  placed  together  in  the  form 
of  a  human  figure  and  left.  If  it  be  true  that  "  the 
custom  of  burning  the  dead  was  well-nigh  universal 
in  remote  ages  in  the  countries  of  the  old  world,"  then 
it  is  probable  that  the  Papuans  brought  this  custom, 
as  well  as  others,  with  them.  It  seems  from  Homer  to 
have  been  the  general  custom  in  the  most  primitive 
period  of  the  history  of  Greece.  It  was  also  a  druidic 
rite,  which  is  said  to  "  agree  better  than  burying  with 
the  venerable  druidic  theory  of  transmigration,  which 
is  so  little  understood  at  the  present,  but  which  is  so 
closely  associated  with  the  doctrine  of  evolution." 

By  the  side  of  cremation  may  be  placed  the  rite 
of  circumcision,  which  is  practised  in  some  parts  of 
New  Guinea  and  on  some  of  the  South  Sea  Islands. 
Making  fishing-nets  might  also  be  referred  to  as  a 
branch  of  industry  amongst  the  natives,  the  knowledge 
of  which  was  brought  from  some  of  the  old  centres 
of  civilization.  In  different  parts  of  New  Guinea,  my 
wife  has  surprised  and  amused  the  natives  by  taking 
their  netting  out  of  their  hands  and  doing  a  little  for 
them.  It  is  the  same  stitch  as  that  in  our  own  country. 
The  stone  gods  and  charms  found  amongst  the  natives 
of  New  Guinea,  and  on  most  of  the  islands  in  the 
South  Pacific — some  standing  erect,  from  one  to  eight 
feet  in  height,  others  portable,  and  carried  about  by 
the  natives — also  point  to  very  ancient  forms  of  wor- 
ship: the  Linga  symbolism  of  the  Shiva  cult  in  India, 
for  instance.  Linguists,  like  the  lamented  Bishop 
Patteson,  have  also  noticed  a  striking  resemblance 


98  AMONG    THE  CANNIBALS. 

between  the  grammatical  structure  of  the  Hebrew 
language  and  the  Papuan  dialects,  especially  as  to 
tenses.  The  poetry  of  these  people  seems  also  more 
akin  to  Hebrew  than  either  Greek  or  Latin.  It  is  not 
measured  by  feet.  It  is  neither  rhyme  nor  blank 
verse,  nor  does  it  correspond  in  structure  to  the 
Hebrew  parallelisms.  It  seems  little  else  than  prose 
— elevated  prose  it  may  be — but  cut  up  into  divisions, 
like  verses,  and  these  are  followed  by  choruses,  chiefly 
single  syllables  with  no  meaning.  This,  according  to 
Dr.  Kitto,  was  the  kind  of  singing  with  which  Laban 
wished  to  send  away  Jacob.  The  style  of  the  poetry 
seems  to  afford  facilities  for  improvising.  The  music 
is  a  kind  of  chanting.  It  runs  along  on  the  principle 
of  a  short  note  and  a  long  one  alternately,  within  a 
narrow  scale. 

I  might  also  refer  to  their  legends,  some  of  which  are 
remarkably  like  the  records  of  Old  Testament  history, 
and  may  be  found  in  my  "  Story  of  the  Lifu  Mission." 
All  these  things,  and  much  more  of  the  kind,  plainly 
indicate  that  these  natives  have  fallen  from  a  higher 
civilization,  that  their  progress  is  downwards,  and 
that  they  are  merely  the  remnant  of  a  worn-out  race. 

Now  let  us  consider  that  the  first  empires  which 
arose  in  the  world  were  formed  by  descendants  of 
Ham  Nimrud,  the  grandson  of  Ham,  went  into 
Assyria  and  founded  Nineveh,  and  the  city  which  he 
built  and  the  empire  he  founded  continued  for  ages 
to  overshadow  all  western  Asia.  Mizraim,  the  son  of 
Ham,  founded  the  Egyptian  monarchy  and  the  Philis- 
tian  commonwealth.  Canaan,  the  fourth  son  of  Ham, 
settled  in  Palestine,  and  his  descendants  founded  first 
the    Canaanitish    kingdoms,   then   Tyre,   and    subse- 


THEIR  MANNERS   AND   CUSTOMS.  99 

quently  Carthage.  These  were  for  a  very  long  time 
the  leading  nations  of  the  world ;  they  possessed  its 
highest  civilization,  and  held  all  but  a  monopoly  of 
its  commerce.  These  young  monarchies  no  doubt 
sent  forth  strong  and  vigorous  colonies,  which  took 
possession  of  the  Asiatic  archipelago,  Australia,  New 
Guinea,  and  Western  Polynesia.  From  the  Asiatic 
archipelago  they  appear  to  have  been  driven  out  by 
a  succeeding  and  superior  race,  who  also  in  time  being 
similarly  treated  by  the  Malays,  passed  on  to  occupy 
the  islands  in  Eastern  Polynesia,  fighting  and  min- 
gling with  the  Papuans  on  their  way  ;  in  some  cases 
succeeding  in  driving  them  into  the  interior,  and 
forming  settlements  on  the  coast,  as  on  the  south- 
east peninsula  of  New  Guinea  and  some  of  the  large 
islands  in  the  South  Sea.  This  pre-Malay  or  Poly- 
nesian race  have  left  mementoes  of  their  passage  in 
the  Polynesian  names  of  various  places,  and  in  out- 
lying remnants  of  their  own  race  on  scattered  points 
of  the  Papuan  archipelago.  Perhaps  the  last  and 
best  confirmed  attempt  of  these  Polynesian  wanderers 
at  permanent  settlement  on  Papuan  soil  was  at  the 
Fiji  Islands.  The  number  of  Polynesian  names  by 
which  these  islands  and  places  in  them  are  called  even 
now  by  their  Papuan  inhabitants  argues  a  permanence 
of  residence  that  cannot  well  be  disputed.  The  large 
infusion  of  Polynesian  vocables  in  the  Fijian  language, 
and  the  mixture  of  the  two  races,  especially  in  the 
south-eastern  part  of  the  group,  indicate  a  protracted 
sojourn  and  an  intercourse  of  peace  as  well  as  of  war. 
I  think  the  foregoing  considerations  plainly  indicate 
the  part  of  the  world  from  which  the  people  of  New 
Guinea  and  Western  Polynesia  have  migrated. 


loo  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

We  will  now  consider  some  of  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  natives  of  New  Guinea,  My  diocese, 
both  in  Western  Polynesia  and  in  New  Guinea,  being 
composed  chiefly  of  cannibal  tribes,  I  shall  first  notice 
that  ancient  and  horrible  custom. 

The  name  cannibal  is  derived  from  Caribs,  the 
original  inhabitants  of  the  West  India  Islands,  who 
were  reported  to  be  man-eaters,  and  some  tribes  of 
whom,  having  no  "  r "  in  their  language,  pronounced 
their  name  Canib,  and  that  latinized  became  canibales, 
which  has  come  into  popular  use  as  a  generic  term  for 
man-eaters,  cannibals.  These  Caribs  were  a  bold  and 
warlike  race,  and,  like  many  of  their  class  in  the 
South  Seas  and  New  Guinea,  made  a  stout  resistance 
to  the  progress  of  European  civilization.  Cannibalism 
is  frequently  referred  to  by  classical  and  early 
Christian  writers.  Perhaps  some  of  my  friends  and 
fellow  countrymen  are  not  aware  that  St.  Jerome 
gives  his  personal  testimony  to  the  practice  in  a  way 
not  very  flattering  to  our  ancestors.  He  states  "  that 
when  he  was  a  boy  living  in  Gaul  he  beheld  the  Scots 
— a  people  of  Britain — eating  human  flesh  ;  and  though 
there  were  plenty  of  cattle  and  sheep  at  their  disposal, 
yet  they  would  prefer  a  ham  of  the  herdsman  or  a 
piece  of  female  breast  as  a  luxury  " .!  Statements  of 
old  authors  still  more  absurd  induced  some  thinkers 
to  believe  that  cannibalism  is  unnatural,  and  to  deny 
that  it  was  ever  practised  by  human  beings  except 
under  the  pressure  of  starvation.  The  accurate  obser- 
vation of  late  travellers  has  however  put  it  beyond 
doubt  that  cannibalism  has  been  and  is  systematically 
practised,  and  practised  by  those  who  are  by  no 
means  the  most  degraded  of  the  human  race.     The 


THEIR  MANNERS  A^ND -CUSTOMS,    ^  _49i 

aborigines  of  Australia,  for  instance,  who  are  gene- 
rally considered  an  extremely  degraded  type,  feed 
on  herbs,  snakes,  worms ;  whilst  the  aborigines  of 
New  Zealand,  who  are  admitted  to  be  the  most  highly 
developed  race  with  which  European  civilization  has 
had  to  compete,  were,  until  recently,  systematic  feeders 
on  human  flesh.  It  has  been  supposed  that  the  reason 
why,  among  the  Jews  and  several  eastern  nations,  the 
eating  of  swine's  flesh  was  forbidden  as  an  unclean 
food  was  its  resemblance  to  human  flesh,  and  the 
danger  that  persons  accustomed  to  the  one  might  not 
retain  their  abhorrence  of  the  other.  The  question  is 
how  the  abominable  practice  arose.  Some  say  from 
superstition  ;  others,  from  hunger ;  others,  again,  from 
revenge.  An  instance  has  been  given  to  show  that 
it  is  the  natural  development  of  ferocity  in  degraded 
natures;  viz.  the  fate  of  the  Princess  Lamballe  in  the 
French  Revolution,  whose  heart  was  plucked  out  by 
one  of  the  savages  of  the  mob,  taken  to  a  restaurant, 
and  there  cooked  and  eaten  by  him. 

It  is  well  known  that  amongst  the  notorious  can- 
nibals of  Fiji  it  was  considered  an  act  of  supreme 
revenge  upon  a  fallen  enemy  ;  and  we  are  informed 
that  the  most  violent  exhibition  of  wrath  one  man 
could  manifest  to  another  was  to  say  to  him,  "  I  will 
eat  you."  "  In  any  action,"  observes  Dr.  Seemann, 
"  where  the  national  honour  had  to  be  avenged,  it  was 
incumbent  upon  the  king  and  principal  chiefs — in  fact, 
a  duty  they  owed  to  their  exalted  station — to  avenge 
the  insult  offered  to  their  country  by  eating  the  per- 
petrators of  it."  But  the  same  writer  thinks  it  worthy 
of  inquiry  if  their  practice  of  cannibal  feasts  did  not, 
in  some  degree,  partake  of  a  religious  ceremony.     His 


102  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

supposition,  he  thinks,  is  countenanced  by  a  very 
singular  fact.  Not  only  are  the  ovens  used  for  this 
purpose  never  appropriated  to  any  other  use,  but 
whereas  every  other  kind  of  food  is  eaten  with  the 
fingers,  three  or  four-pronged  forks,  made  of  hard 
wood,  are  used  for  eating  human  flesh.  Every  one  of 
these  forks,  he  says,  is  known  by  its  particular — often 
obscene — name ;  and  they  are  handed  down  from 
generation  to  generation,  and  greatly  valued.  Dr. 
Seemann  mentions  the  great  difficulty  they  had  in 
obtaining  specimens  for  their  ethnological  collection. 
And  when  they  were  afterwards  shown  to  natives 
who  did  not  know  how  they  had  been  obtained,  they 
always  looked  grave,  and  were  especially  anxious  that 
they  should  not  be  displayed  before  their  children. 
"  My  handling  them,"  says  the  doctor,  "  seemed  to 
give  as  much  pain  as  if  I  had  gone  into  a  Christian 
church  and  used  the  chalice  for  drinking  water." 
In  the  centre  of  one  of  the  Fiji  Islands  there  stands  a 
great  banyan  tree— the  akautabii^  sacred  tree,  or  "  the 
tree  with  the  forbidden  fruit."  Under  its  spreading 
branches  war  and  licentious  dances  were  practised, 
accompanied  by  the  murder  of  prisoners  and  by  canni- 
bal feasts.  Before  cooking  the  victims,  sometimes  even 
before  their  death,  certain  parts  of  the  bodies  of  both 
sexes  used  to  be  cut  off  and  hung  in  the  branches  of 
this  tree,  which  was  sometimes  perfectly  loaded  with 
this  singular  and  repulsive  fruit.  The  renowned  can- 
nibal chief  Thakumbau  is  known  to  have  revelled  in 
all  the  abominations  of  cannibalism  under  this  sacred 
tree.  On  one  occasion,  for  instance,  he  cut  out  the 
tongue  of  a  captive  chief  who  had  used  it  to  beg  for 
a  speedy  death,  and  jocosely  ate  it  before  his  face. 


THEIR  MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS.  103 

My  object  however  is  not  to  write  a  chapter  of 
horrors  on  cannibaHsm,  which  might  easily  be  done, 
but  simply  to  show  that  it  is  a  terrible  reality,  that  it 
exists  in  New  Guinea,  and  that  its  practice  does  not 
indicate  the  lowest  type  of  humanity.  Judging  from 
my  own  experience  of  cannibal  tribes,  I  am  inclined 
to  the  opinion  that  the  practice  arose  from  revenge. 
Both  in  New  Guinea  and  the  South  Sea,  so  far  as  I 
know  (with  but  one  exception,  the  Tugarians,  of 
whom  I  shall  speak  presently)  it  is  only  the  bodies  of 
enemies  that  are  eaten.  Still,  it  may  have  originated 
in  connection  with  some  religious  observance.  The 
religion  of  these  natives  has  some  peculiar  features, 
and  the  use  made  of  them  by  the  priests  must  tend  to 
infuse  a  taste  for  those  revolting  practices.  We  are 
painfully  reminded  in  history  that  the  greatest  refine- 
ments of  cruelty  and  the  most  brutal  disregard  of 
human  suffering  have  been  at  one  time  or  another  and 
in  various  places  connected  with  religion  at  compara- 
tively advanced  periods  of  national  progress.  Baking 
and  boiling  alive  have  a  terrific  sound,  and  are  re- 
garded as  indications  of  a  very  savage  condition  ;  but 
the  slow  combustion  by  fire  of  the  living  heretic,  the 
frightful  tortures  of  the  inquisition,  are  facts  equally 
remarkable  for  their  cruelty  and  equally  depreciatory 
of  our  nature,  yet  were  not  deformities  belonging  to 
our  savage  state.  We  are  accustomed  to  hold  the 
microscope  over  these  natives  and  exclaim  with  horror 
at  their  practices,  when  it  might  be  well  to  turn  it 
upon  ourselves  and  consider  some  of  the  enormities 
associated  with  our  civilization. 

I    can    testify   to   the    possession    of   many    noble 
qualities  by  the  cannibals.     They  are  not  deficient  in 


I04  AMONG   THE  CANNIBALS. 

courage,  manliness,  and  even  humanity,  as  some 
people  foolishly  declare  them  to  be  ;  and  they  are 
even  distinguished  for  their  hospitality.  Indeed  they 
are  as  a  rule  a  good-tempered,  liberal  people — 
greatly  superior  in  these  qualities  to  their  lighter 
coloured  neighbours  who  look  down  upon  them.  On 
the  south-east  peninsula  of  New  Guinea,  for  instance, 
we  have  the  cannibal  tribes  occupying  each  end — those 
who  are  generally  regarded  as  their  superiors  being  in 
the  centre.  The  latter  speak  with  contempt  of  the 
former — although  they  take  good  care  not  to  do  so  in 
their  presence — and  look  upon  them  as  being  greatly 
their  inferiors.  Such  is  the  blind,  arrogant  pride  of 
human  nature.  The  fact  is,  that  the  cannibal  tribes 
make  better  houses,  better  canoes,  better  weapons, 
and  better  drums — and  keep  a  better  table,  they  would 
say — than  their  neighbours ;  indeed,  they  exhibit  great 
skill  and  taste  in  carving ;  and  any  one  who  has  visited 
both  tribes  will  at  once  notice  the  good-natured  hospi- 
tality of  the  cannibals,  compared  with  the  selfishness 
and  greed  of  their  neighbours,  who  are  incorrigible 
beggars.  Still  their  cannibalism  is  the  distinctive 
feature  which  separates  them  from  other  tribes.  And 
even  cannibalism  has  its  degrees.  Those  at  the  east 
end  of  New  Guinea  consider  themselves  quite  respect- 
able cannibals  compared  with  their  neighbours  in  the 
D'Entrecasteaux  group.  I  remember  trying  to  per- 
suade some  of  them  to  accompany  me  on  a  visit  to 
Normanby  Island,  when  they  described  the  natives  of 
that  place  as  a  set  of  degraded  cannibals,  who  ate 
every  part  of  the  human  body,  even  the  hair  being 
boiled  with  the  blood  and  devoured.  And  yet,  when 
visiting  one  of  the  villages  of  these  exemplary  canni- 


THEIR  MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS.  105 

bals,  in  company  with  Mr.  Chester  (the  police  magis- 
trate of  Thursday  Island)  and  Mr.  Chalmers,  we  were 
disturbed  at  night  by  a  great  noise  in  the  village,  and 
went  out  to  see  what  it  was  all  about.  We  found  our 
friend  the  chief — a  notorious  old  cannibal,  who  wore  a 
necklace  of  small  bones  indicating  the  number  of  per- 
sons he  had  killed — mounted  on  the  village  rostrum, 
which  he  paced  most  excitedly,  as  he  poured  forth 
what  appeared  to  be  quite  an  oration.  Upon  inquiry 
we  found  that  the  object  of  his  vituperation  was  a 
woman  in  a  small  village  about  a  mile  distant,  who 
had  that  day  been  visited  by  some  friends  from  a 
distance,  and  being  anxious  to  place  before  them  the 
best  she  had,  had  served  up  the  body  of  her  husband, 
who  had  died  the  day  before !  Old  Bony's  proposi- 
tion was  that  they  should  banish  their  wives,  lest  they 
should  treat  their  bodies  with  like  disrespect  after 
death.  His  proposal  however  met  with  little  favour,  a 
native  who  stood  near  us  jocosely  remarking  that  he 
was  only  angry  because  they  did  not  send  him  a  piece. 
Of  the  cannibals  in  the  western  branch  of  our  mis- 
sion the  Tugarians  are  the  most  savage,  warlike,  and 
cruel.  They  are  a  cannibal  tribe  of  pirates,  who 
come  from  the  west  of  the  Baxter  River  and  make 
periodical  raids  upon  the  villages  along  the  eastern 
coast,  well  known  and  greatly  feared  by  the  natives 
between  the  Baxter  and  Fly  rivers,  although  no  one 
seems  to  know  where  the  Tugarian  village  is  situated. 
These  cannibal  pirates  use  long,  fleet  canoes,  propelled 
by  paddles,  in  which  they  steal  along  the  coast  and 
up  the  rivers  and  creeks,  plundering,  murdering,  and 
making  prisoners  as  they  go.  They  break  the  arms 
and  legs  of  the  prisoners  when  taken,  so  as  to  pre- 


io6  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

vent  their  fighting  or  running  away,  and  then  keep 
them  as  fresh  meat  until  required,  cooking  one  or  two 
bodies  at  a  time.  Their  piratical  voyages  last  several 
months  sometimes,  as  they  are  in  the  habit  of  camping 
on  the  coast  at  different  places  after  successful  raids. 

The  island  of  Poigu,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Baxter 
River,  has  been  almost  depopulated  by  these  can- 
nibals, who  however  are  not  always  successful.  I 
remember  being  much  interested  in  the  Poiguans' 
account  of  the  only  successful  encounter  they  ever  had 
with  their  mortal  enemies.  On  this  occasion  the 
Tugarians  were  seen  approaching  the  island  in  the 
daytime  in  their  outriggerless  canoes.  The  Poiguans, 
whose  canoes  have  double  outriggers  and  a  platform, 
determined  to  make  a  desperate  effort  to  save  their 
families,  homes,  and  plantations  ;  and  so  hastily  col- 
lected stones,  which  they  placed  on  the  platforms  of 
their  canoes,  seized  their  weapons  and  paddles,  and 
hastened  to  meet  the  enemy  at  sea,  where  they  hoped 
to  have  the  advantage  over  their  more  numerous  and 
powerful  enemy.  Their  wives  and  children  watched 
the  canoes  approach  each  other,  although  not  in 
"  breathless  silence,"  yet  we  can  imagine  with  what 
intense  anxiety.  The  Tugarians,  flushed  with  suc- 
cess, and  confident  in  their  numbers,  yelled  and 
flourished  their  paddles  at  their  insignificant  foes. 
The  Poiguans  locked  their  shields  to  protect  the 
rowers,  and  approached  the  enemy  amidst  a  shower 
of  arrows.  When  close  to  them  they  suddenly  made 
such  use  of  their  stones  and  spears  as  to  produce  the 
utmost  confusion  amongst  the  enemy,  most  of  whose 
canoes  were  soon  capsized  and  smashed.  Many  were 
killed,  and  the  rest  fled,  leaving  the  Poiguans  to  re- 


THEIR  MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS.  107 

turn  victorious  to  their  rejoicing  wives  and  families. 
Subsequent  night  attacks  however  have  proved  most 
disastrous  to  the  Poiguans,  only  a  comparatively  few 
of  whom  now  remain,  and  they  are  taking  refuge  at 
our  mission  station  at  Dauan.  Two  of  our  senior 
students  when  I  left  were  Poiguans — real  good,  smart 
fellows.  They  are  now  engaged  in  evangelistic  work 
in  the  Fly  River. 

Perhaps  the  worst  defeat  which  the  Tugarians  have 
ever  suffered  happened  to  them  three  years  ago,  when 
they  attacked  the  Saibaians.  Saibai  is  one  of  the 
oldest  stations  of  our  New  Guinea  Mission.  It  is 
about  three  miles  from  Dauan,  and  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  mainland  of  New  Guinea.  The  inhabitants 
until  recently  were  desperate  skull-hunters  ;  many  of 
their  finest  young  men  are  now  in  the  Papuan  insti- 
tute, preparing  to  go  as  evangelists  to  the  Papuan 
Gulf  The  Saibaians  received  a  terrible  warning  of 
the  approach  of  the  Tugarians.  The  latter,  having 
fallen  upon  a  village  on  the  mainland  opposite  and 
killed  twelve  of  the  inhabitants,  were  camped  within 
sight  of  Saibai,  the  smoke  from  their  cannibal  feasts 
rising  before  the  eyes  of  those  who,  the  Tugarians 
thought,  were  to  be  their  next  victims.  The  Sai- 
baians, on  hearing  the  news  from  some  natives  who 
had  fled  from  the  attacked  village,  at  once  assembled, 
held  a  council  of  war,  and  decided  to  meet  them  at 
sea.  Crossing  over,  they  met  the  canoe  fleet  ofl"  the 
New  Guinea  coast,  and,  according  to  arrangement, 
tried  friendly  overtures  ;  but  these  were  replied  to  by 
most  warlike  demonstrations.  The  Tugarians,  confi- 
dent in  their  numbers,  disdained  any  peace  overtures, 
und  performed  before  the  Saibaians  some  very  insult- 


io8  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

ing  acts,  which  aroused  the  war  spirit  in  some  of  the 
Saibai  men  ;  but  the  chief  restrained  them,  and  it  was 
not  until  he  himself  was  wounded  that  the  order  was 
given  to  return  the  fire.  The  Saibai  men,  though 
comparatively  few  in  number,  had  a  rifle  and  two 
muskets,  which  they  had  obtained  from  their  friends 
in  Torres  Straits ;  and  these  were  a  host  in  themselves, 
causing  the  Tugarians  to  beat  a  quick  retreat,  leaving 
fifteen  of  their  canoes  behind  them.  How  many  were 
killed  or  wounded  (if  any)  is  not  known,  the  canoes 
being  abandoned.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  will 
not  make  their  appearance  again,  although  1  heard, 
when  visiting  some  inland  tribes  in  that  part  of  New 
Guinea  a  short  time  ago,  that  they  had  informed  some 
of  their  friends  of  their  intention  to  be  revenged  upon 
the  Saibaians.  It  is  during  the  calm  season  of  the 
year  that  these  expeditions  are  made,  so  the  Saibaians 
at  that  time  keep  a  sharp  look  out. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  cannibals  are  very  fond 
of  human  flesh.  I  remember,  when  at  Lifu,  putting 
the  question  plainly  to  one  of  my  pundits,  who  had 
been  a  notorious  cannibal,  but  was  at  that  time,  and 
had  been  for  many  years,  a  deacon  of  the  Church  and 
a  very  consistent,  devoted,  and  spiritually  minded 
man.  I  asked  him  to  tell  me  honestly  whether  they, 
as  cannibals,  really  liked  human  flesh.  The  old  man 
looked  ashamed,  and  expressed  a  desire  not  to  speal^ 
on  the  subject,  saying  that  "  those  were  dark  days." 
I  pressed  the  question  however,  telling  him  that  I  had 
an  object  in  wishing  to  know  the  real  state  of  the 
case.  He  then  solemnly  assured  me,  that  although 
they  had  tasted  fish,  fowl,  turtle,  turkey,  beef,  pork, 
etc.,  there  was  nothing  so  good  as  human  flesh.     No 


THEIR  MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS.  109 

doubt  he  is  right.  Man  is  the  best  fed  animal,  and  I 
dare  say  if  we  had  a  piece  of  well-cooked  human  flesh 
served  up,  without  knowing  what  it  was,  we  should 
pronounce  it  to  be  the  best  bit  of  meat  that  we  had 
tasted  for  a  long  time.  Considering  the  great  liking 
that  cannibals  have  for  human  flesh,  and  that  canni- 
TDalism  very  soon  sneaks  out  at  the  back  door  when 
Christianity  has  entered  at  the  front,  we  still  behold 
the  power  of  the  old  gospel  over  the  human  heart — 
the  response  of  the  soul,  however  degraded,  to  the 
call  of  its  Master. 

Cannibalism  has  received  its  death  blow  in  New 
Guinea.  It  may  "die  hard"  in  some  places,  but  die 
it  must.  Not  only  is  the  axe  laid  at  the  root  of  that 
terrible  tree,  but  the  tree  itself  has  been  struck  with  a 
fatal  blow  that  will  quiver  through  all  its  branches, 
carrying  death  to  the  remotest  twig. 

In  concluding  my  remarks  on  this  subject,  I  will 
give  two  instances  of  how  cannibahsm  begins  to  dis- 
appear before  the  march  of  the  gospel  of  peace  and 
love.  Calling  at  the  Engineer  Group  when  visiting  the 
eastern  branch  of  our  mission  before  I  left  New  Guinea, 
I  heard  of  their  last  cannibal  feast.  The  chief  Aualu 
is  a  tall,  powerful,  notorious  cannibal.  Near  his  house 
there  stands  a  sacred  inclosure  made  of  carved  slabs. 
Inside  of  the  inclosure  the  women  are  never  allowed 
»to  enter.  It  is  the  receptacle  of  all  the  human  bodies 
taken  in  war.  Here  they  are  prepared  for  the  canni- 
bal feast,  and  divided  amongst  the  villages.  Unlike  the 
cannibals  I  have  lived  amongst  in  the  South  Pacific, 
these  people  do  not  cook  the  bodies  whole  and  then 
cut  them  up,  as  they  do  pigs.  The  warriors  stand 
around   whilst   the  victims  are  being  singed  with  a 


no  AMONG  THE   CANNIBALS. 

torch  and  skinned,  and  then  cut  up  into  suitable  por- 
tions for  each  village.     The  cooking  is  done  in  pots, 
and  not,  as  in  the  South  Seas,  amidst  hot  stones.     The 
victims  of  the  last  cannibal  feast  were  from  Brooker 
Island.    The  commodore  from  Sydney,  with  two  men- 
of-war,  had  been  to  punish  the  Brooker  islanders  for 
the  massacre  of  Mr.  Ingram's  party  and  other  white 
men.     Aualu,  who  was  a  friend  of  Mr.  Ingram's,  was 
not  at  all  satisfied  with  the  punishment  inflicted  by  the 
commodore,  no  one  being  either  killed  or  wounded. 
He  consequently  assembled   his  warriors  and  held  a 
council  of  war,  when  it  was  decided  that  the  Brooker 
islanders  ought  to  have  a   greater  number   of  their 
people  killed  than    they  had  killed  of  Mr.   Ingram's 
party.     The  war  canoes  w^ere  got  ready,  and  Aualu 
started  to  avenge  the  death  of  his  friends.     They  re- 
turned to  their  homes  with  twelve  bodies  of  the  enemy, 
had   a  grand  cannibal  feast,  and  then   promised  the 
native  missionary  at  Teste  Island  it  should  be  the  last. 
They  have  lived  in  peace  ever  since,  and  seemed  very 
anxious  that  I  should  locate  a  teacher  amongst  them. 
We  had  staying  with  us  an  interesting  little  Papuan 
girl  about  nine  years  of  age,  who  was  saved  by  one  of 
our  native  missionaries  from  a  horrible  death,  under 
circumstances  which  illustrate  how  cannibalism  recedes 
before  the  gospel.     One  of  our  Lifu  teachers,  hearing 
that  the  natives  of  a  neighbouring  village  had  brought 
home  the  bodies  of  two  men  whom  they  had  caught 
and  killed,  also  a  little  girl,  doubtless  the  daughter  of 
one  of  the  murdered  men,  hastened  to  the  spot,  and 
there  beheld  the  two  bodies  lying  beside  a  large  fire 
that  was  being  prepared    to  cook   them,   the    heads 
severed  and  placed  by  themselves,  and  a  child  still  in 


THEIR  MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS.  in 

the  canoe,  which  was  guarded  by  some  natives  on  the 
beach.  He  took  in  the  situation  at  once,  and  saw  that 
there  was  no  time  to  be  lost.  He  had  been  Hving  with 
the  people  for  several  years,  and  they  had  learned  to 
respect  and  value  him,  which  he  knew  very  well,  and 
therefore  spoke  accordingly.  After  telling  them  how 
grieved  he  was  to  see  them  persisting  in  cannibalism 
after  all  he  had  said,  he  informed  them  that  his  Mas- 
ter's commands  were  that  they  should  leave  the  people 
who  would  not  receive  their  message,  and  go  some- 
where else  ;  he  should  therefore  be  obliged  to  leave 
them  unless  they  gave  up  those  bodies  to  be  buried, 
and  spared  the  life  of  that  child  by  handing  it  over  to 
his  wife.  The  fact  that  they  ultimately  complied  with 
the  teacher's  wish,  considering  the  circumstances,  was 
to  me,  who  knew  something  of  what  it  meant  to  give 
up  those  bodies,  a  very  pleasing  proof  of  the  begin- 
ning of  a  good  work  amongst  them  ;  and  I  am  happy 
to  say  that  there  has  not  been  any  cannibalism  there 
since.  Thus  this  horrible  custom  disappears  before 
Christianity. 

With  reference  to  government  in  New  Guinea,  we 
have  not  yet  found  any  chiefs  in  New  Guinea  worthy 
the  name.  Those  represented  as  such  are  simply 
leaders  in  time  of  war — headmen,  v*^ho,  compared 
with  the  chiefs  of  the  South  Sea  Islands  with  which 
I  am  acquainted,  are  powerless  in  time  of  peace.  They 
cannot  impose  a  tax  of  any  kind,  and  have  no  control 
over  the  people  beyond  their  own  family.  I  was  par- 
ticularly impressed  with  this  fact  when  we  established 
a  mission  station  at  the  village  of  one  of  these  head- 
men, who  had  been  represented  to  us  as  the  biggest 
chief  in  New  Guinea,  and  who  has  been  exhibited  as 


112  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

such  in  Queensland  to  the  wondering  community  ot 
Cooktown.  The  fact  is,  that  he,  Hke  the  rest,  has  no 
authority  except  as  a  war  leader.  Physically  he  is  a 
big  man,  certainly  one  of  the  most  powerful-looking 
men  I  have  seen  in  New  Guinea,  and  he  greatly  boasts 
of  his  strength  and  exploits,  and  is  feared  as  the  bully 
of  a  village  is  feared.  His  name  is  Koapena.  When 
we  arrived  at  his  village,  according  to  arrangement, 
with  two  South  Sea  Island  teachers  and  their  boxes, 
he  met  us  on  the  beach  with  a  crowd  of  natives.  To 
see  the  man  and  hear  him  talk  one  would  suppose  that 
he  was  a  powerful  and  despotic  chief;  indeed,  this  was 
our  first  impression  ;  but  when  it  came  to  carrying 
the  teachers'  luggage  up  to  his  house,  his  true  position 
became  ludicrously  evident.  We  begged  him  to  ask 
some  of  his  men  to  carry  the  goods,  and  we  would 
pay  them.  He  spoke  to  them,  he  entreated,  he 
stormed  ;  but  they  only  laughed  at  him;  and  told  him 
to  carry  them  himself  Finally,  in  a  rage,  he  and  his 
own  sons  shouldered  the  boxes  and  walked  off  with 
them,  amidst  the  laughter  of  the  crowd.  When  in  his 
house,  we  were  crowded  almost  to  suffocation,  and 
begged  him  to  send  some  of  the  people  out,  that  we 
might  get  a  little  fresh  air.  Here  again  he  seemed 
utterly  powerless  even  to  send  the  boys  out  of  his 
own  house ;  and,  to  complete  his  humiliation  in  our 
estimation,  when  we  made  him  a  present  those  around 
snatched  the  things  out  of  his  hand  and  bore  them 
away  in  triumph,  notwithstanding  his  protestations, 
it  was  quite  evident  that  this  great  man,  of  whom  we 
had  heard  so  much,  was  no  chief  at  all,  but  simply  a 
noted  warrior,  who,  by  physical  strength  and  daring, 
had  forced  himself  to  the  front. 


THEIR  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  113 

These  headmen  live  and  dress  just  Hke  their  neigh- 
bours. They  have  to  make  their  own  plantations  and 
build  their  own  houses,  also  fish  and  hunt  for  them- 
selves. It  is  only  when  there  is  a  council  of  war  or  an 
actual  engagement  that  they  come  to  the  front  and 
speak  with  authority.  If  cannibals,  they  superintend 
the  cutting  up  and  dividing  of  the  victims.  Amongst 
most  of  the  tribes  the  headmanship  is  hereditary  ; 
sometimes  however  the  tribes  become  dissatisfied 
with  his  leadership,  and  he  is  deposed  and  another 
appointed  in  his  place,  though  this  seldom  happens. 
His  badge  and  source  of  authority  is  really  his  club, 
which  is  generally  a  very  superior  one,  made  of  stone. 

The  absence  of  powerful  chiefs,  as  amongst  the  South 
Sea  Islands,  has  been  seriously  felt  by  us  in  establishing 
mission  stations  amongst  the  people.  The  interest  and 
protection  of  a  powerful  chief  (which  is  not  difficult 
to  secure  by  presents  and  kindness)  is  not  only  a  source 
of  security,  but  of  advancement  for  the  mission ;  where- 
as there  is  generally  but  little  advantage  in  having 
a  New  Guinea  chief  for  your  friend,  his  influence  being 
so  small  that  he  can  neither  protect  your  life  nor  pro- 
perty. You  may  be  attacked  by  any  man  in  the 
village  without  his  asking  the  sanction  or  fearing  the 
frown  of  the  headman  or  anybody  else,  except  the 
party  attacked  and  his  friends.  Still  these  headmen 
may  be  descendants  of  chiefs  who  were  as  powerful 
and  despotic  as  those  now  reigning  in  the  South  Sea; 
for  not  only  do  the  sons  succeed  to  the  office,  but  they 
generally  succeed  also  to  the  name.  Query  therefore: 
Is  democracy  a  sign  of  advancement  or  retrogression? 

In  their  government  the  natives  of  New  Guinea,  so 
far  as  we  know  them,  are  patriarchal  and  democratic. 


114  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

All  important  matters  are  decided  in  a  general  council 
of  the  village,  at  which  the  headmen  and  sacred  men, 
or  priests,  have  most  to  say,  and  whose  advice  is 
generally  followed.  I  mean  by  headmen  the  heads  of 
families — a  family  being  a  combined  group  of  sons, 
daughters,  uncles,  cousins,  nieces,  etc.  The  sacred  men 
are  the  doctors  and  sorcerers  of  the  village. 

All  land,  both  cultivated  and  uncultivated,  is  owned 
by  the  heads  of  families.  Having  no  written  language 
they,  of  course,  had  no  written  laws.  The  boundaries 
of  their  lands  are  however  well  defined,  and  their 
land  laws  strictly  observed.  Any  disputes  about  land 
boundaries  (which  rarely  occur)  are  settled,  like  all 
other  grievances,  by  public  opinion  in  a  general  council 
of  the  people.  Crimes,  such  as  stealing,  adultery,  etc., 
are  dealt  with  very  summarily,  the  offender  being 
punished  by  the  person  injured.  Club  law  prevails, 
sustained  by  public  opinion.  Death  is  the  usual  pun- 
ishment for  murder  and  often  for  adultery.  The 
injured  party  being  at  liberty  to  seek  revenge  on  the 
brother,  son,  or  any  member  of  the  family  to  which 
the  guilty  party  belonged,  sometimes  the  culprit  and 
his  family  seek  refuge  in  another  village,  which  proves 
a  city  of  refuge.  It  is  seldom  any  one  dares  to  pursue 
them  and  risk  hostilities  with  the  village  that  protects 
them.  The  revenge  then  takes  the  form  of  burning 
down  their  houses  and  plundering  their  plantations. 

Wars  generally  originate  about  women  or  in  some 
private  quarrel  between  two  individuals,  which  the 
village  takes  up.  Their  weapons  are  clubs,  spears, 
bows  and  arrows,  stones,  and  wooden  swords,  which 
are  generally  made  of  ebony  and  artistically  carved. 
Some   of  their   short    spears   are   also   well    carved. 


THEIR  MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS.  115 

Their  bows  are  mostly  made  from  bamboos  and  very- 
powerful,  their  arrows  being  made  from  reeds  and 
pointed  with  bone,  which  is  often  a  human  bone 
saturated  with  poison.  In  war  they  never  stand  up 
in  orderly  ranks  and  shoot  at  each  other  ;  according 
to  their  notions  that  would  be  the  height  of  folly. 
Their  favourite  tactics  are  rather  of  the  surprise  and 
skirmishing  order.  I  remember  one  of  the  chiefs 
questioning  me  about  our  mode  of  warfare,  and  his 
look  of  amazement  when  I  described  the  rows  of  men 
placed  opposite  each  other  and  firing  at  one  another 
with  guns.  He  eagerly  inquired  whether  the  men 
were  within  range,  and  when  I  replied  in  the  affirmative 
he  exclaimed  :  "  Then  you  are  great  fools.  We 
thought  you  were  wise  men,  but  it  seems  you  are 
fools."  Then  he  asked  where  the  chief  stood,  "  Oh," 
I  said,  "  he  remains  at  home  and  sends  his  men  to 
fight."  At  which  there  was  a  burst  of  laughter,  the 
chief  remarking  proudly  that  New  Guinea  chiefs  not 
only  accompanied  the  fighting  men,  but  kept  in  front. 
And  it  occurred  to  me  that  if  we  were  to  adopt  a 
similar  custom  our  wars  would  probably  be  less 
sanguinary.  The  heroes  are  those  who  obtain  the 
greatest  number  of  human  heads.  They  are  often, 
like  Achilles,  swift  of  foot,  who  dash  towards  the 
enemy  and  hurl  a  spear  with  great  precision.  Their 
great  ambition  is  to  signalise  themselves  by  the  num- 
ber of  heads  hanging  in  their  houses.  No  hero  in  the 
Grecian  games  rejoices  more  over  his  chaplet  than 
does  the  young  Papuan  glory  in  the  distinction  of 
having  cut  off  a  man's  head.  I  remember  the  pride 
with  which  the  young  chief  of  Saibai  pointed  out  to 
me  five  skulls  hanging  in  front  of  his  house.     His 


Ii6  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

bravery  was  the  subject  of  village  song.  He  is  now 
a  devoted  and  leading  member  of  the  church  there. 

Their  wars  are  not  very  sanguinary.  They  have 
not  yet  learnt  the  art  of  killing  by  hundreds  and 
thousands.  A  dozen  slain  at  a  battle  is  a  large  num- 
ber. It  is  usually  two  or  three  on  each  side,  and  a 
few  wounded,  both  sides  claiming  the  victory.  The 
women  sometimes  accompany  the  warriors,  and  whilst 
the  men  are  fighting  or  skirmishing  the  women  are 
plundering  the  plantations  of  the  enemy  ;  and  when 
they  return  twit  their  husbands  with  their  want  of 
success,  pointing  to  their  baskets  full  of  yams,  and 
asking  them  where  the  skulls  are  which  they  have 
brought. 

Of  all  the  tribes  with  which  I  am  acquainted  in 
New  Guinea,  there  are  none  equal,  either  in  bravery 
or  cruelty,  to  the  Tugarians.  I  have  in  my  possession 
a  battle-axe  from  this  tribe,  the  only  iron  weapon  I 
have  seen  amongst  the  savages  of  New  Guinea  along 
th2  600  miles  of  coast-line  with  which  I  am  ac- 
quainted. It  is  evidently  made  from  a  piece  of  iron 
fiom  some  wreck,  and  is  more  like  a  small  pickaxe 
than  an  ordinary  axe.  So  far  as  we  know,  the  natives 
of  New  Guinea  have  no  idea  of  working  the  minerals 
with  which  their  country  abounds,  so  that  the  absence 
of  gold  ornaments  by  no  means  indicates  the  absence 
of  gold,  any  more  than  it  did  in  Australia.  They 
value  iron  of  any  kind  very  highly,  especially  thick 
hoop-iron,  which  they  sharpen  and  use  as  axes. 
Long  knives  are  greatly  prized,  being  used  for  clear- 
ing the  scrub  for  their  plantations  and  as  swords  in 
war. 

They   possess    very   few   and   very   inferior   tools, 


THEIR  MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS.  117 

which  are  made  from  stones,  flint,  and  bones ;  yet 
their  carving  is  surprisingly  well  done,  showing  con- 
siderable artistic  skill,  both  in  the  design  and  in  the 
execution.  They  carve  images  of  birds,  fish,  and 
men,  and  ornament  their  canoes,  paddles,  houses, 
drums,  clubs,  etc.,  with  tolerably  well-executed  draw- 
ings and  carvings,  A  large  nail  is  to  them  quite  a 
treasure.  They  sharpen  it  and  use  it  as  a  small  chisel. 
I  have  seen  a  cannibal  native  execute  some  very  good 
work  on  his  canoe  with  a  spike  nail  that  I  gave  him. 

There  is  a  good  deal  of  ingenuity  displayed  by  the 
natives  in  the  construction  and  ornamentation  of  their 
canoes.  Any  one  can  tie  a  bundle  of  bamboos  to- 
gether and  form  a  raft,  as  the  natives  in  the  interior 
do  for  crossing  rivers.  Nor  does  it  require  much  skill 
to  fell  a  tree,  cut  off  the  branches,  and  hollow  out  the 
log,  as  many  of  the  inland  tribes  do  who  live  on  the 
banks  of  creeks  and  arms  of  the  large  rivers.  But  to 
construct  a  war  canoe,  with  its  single  or  double  out- 
rigger, and  its  artistically  carved  stem  and  sternposts, 
its  carved  images,  and  handsome  steering  paddle,  and 
well-executed  drawings  of  fish,  etc.,  on  its  sides,  is  the 
work  of  a  distinct  and  not  very  numerous  class  of 
professional  carpenters  and  painters.  The  lakatoi  or 
large  trading  canoe  used  by  the  natives  in  the  barren 
district  of  Port  Moresby  for  obtaining  food  from  the 
fertile  Papuan  Gulf,  is  a  kind  of  raft,  made  by  lashing 
six  or  eight  canoes  together,  upon  which  a  platform  is 
raised,  made  from  pieces  of  old  canoes,  the  sides  being 
made  in  the  same  way  as  their  houses,  of  leaves  sewn 
together,  and  the  whole  propelled  by  an  immense 
mat  sail  or  sails.  Of  course,  they  can  only  go  with  a 
fair  wind,  and  so  leave  for  the  gulf  at  the  south-east 


Il8  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

monsoon,  and  return  with  the  first  of  the  north-west. 
The  best  canoes  I  have  seen  in  New  Guinea  are 
those  at  the  east  end,  which  are  really  well-built  boats, 
consisting  of  two  or  three  planks  sewn  to  the  sides  of 
a  log  neatly  hollowed  out.  Timbers  and  thwarts  are 
fitted,  and  the  whole  ornamented  with  carved  work, 
drawings,  shells,  streamers,  etc.  They  have  an  out- 
rigger, and  are  propelled  by  a  large  mat  sail,  which 
they  handle  very  dexterously  in  beating  to  windward. 
These  canoes  will  outsail  an  ordinary  whaleboat,  and 
go  to  windward  of  it. 

Their  sails,  like  their  canoes,  differ  widely,  from  a 
plaited  cocoanut  leaf  to  a  well-made  mat  sail  like  an 
immense  kite,  the  top  being  concave  instead  of  convex. 
The  canoe  paddles  of  the  savages  at  the  eastern  end 
of  the  south-east  peninsula  are  the  best  I  have  seen. 
They  are  generally  made  of  cedar,  smaller  than  an 
ordinary  paddle,  prettily  shaped  and  regularly  cut,  the 
top  of  the  handle  being  neatly  carved. 

Native  houses,  like  native  canoes,  differ  very  much 
amongst  different  tribes.  Some  are  like  gigantic  bee- 
hives ;  others  are  like  a  row  of  cottages  without  any 
partitions.  As  previously  mentioned,  I  measured  one 
of"  this  kind  at  an  inland  village  thirty  miles  up  the 
Fly  River,  and  found  it  to  be  512  feet  in  length.  Some 
are  built  on  posts  all  sizes  and  all  shapes,  often  like 
a  boat  turned  bottom  upwards.  I  noticed  amongst 
the  inland  tribes  in  the  Papuan  Gulf,  near  the  Fly 
River,  that  the  houses  were  built  of  bark  instead 
of  grass  or  leaves,  as  is  generally  the  case  ;  still,  like 
those  of  the  inland  tribes  on  the  peninsula,  they  are 
inferior  to  the  houses  on  the  coast.  The  hill  tribes 
often   build  their  houses  for  safety  in   the  forks  of 


THEIR  MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS.  119 

trees.  They  first  make  a  platform,  which  not  only 
bears  the  house,  but  also  a  quantity  of  stones,  which 
are  always  kept  handy  to  defend  it  from  the  enemy. 
They  live  on  the  ridges  of  the  hills,  which  are  some- 
times very  narrow.  I  remember  spending  a  night  at 
one  of  these  places.  We  had  more  than  one  reason 
for  preferring  camping  out  to  sleeping  in  one  of  their 
houses.  My  hammock  was  slung  between  two  posts, 
but  it  seemed  so  dangerous  as  I  lay  and  looked 
down  the  steep  sides  of  the  mountain,  which  was 
over  1,000  feet  high,  that  I  got  out  and  lay  on  the 
ground. 

The  most  peculiar  and  interesting  are  the  villages 
built  on  posts  in  the  lagoons,  and  on  some  parts  of 
the  coasts,  varying  in  distance  up  to  a  mile  from  the 
beach,  reminding  one  of  the  old  lake  dwellings. 
These  houses  are  much  like  large,  ricketty  pigeon 
cots,  along  the  floors  and  platforms  of  which  you 
tread  your  way  with  fear  and  trembling,  expecting 
every  moment  to  drop  through  into  the  sea.  The 
interior  of  many  of  the  native  houses  is  both  clean 
and  comfortable.  The  better  class  consist  of  a  plat- 
form or  portico,  then  the  large  living  room,  and  above 
a  s4eeping  apartment.  They  are  well  thatched,  the 
sides  made  of  leaves  neatly  sewn  together,  and  stand 
upon  strong  posts  six  or  eight  feet  high. 

The  natives  are  mostly  vegetarians.  Occasionally 
they  get  some  fish,  kangaroos,  or  human  flesh  ;  but 
this  is  rare,  except  at  a  few  fishing  villages  on  the 
coast.  Their  food  consists  of  yams,  taro,  bananas, 
cocoanuts,  sugar-cane,  and  sago,  the  last-named 
article  being  cultivated  chiefly  in  the  Papuan  Gulf, 
where  there  is  plenty  of  fresh  water.  It  is  the 
9 


I20  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

chief  article  of  export  from  the  gulf,  being  exchanged 
with  the  tribes  about  Port  Moresby  for  pottery.  We 
also  purchase  a  good  deal  from  the  natives  of  the  Fly 
River  for  food  for  our  Papuan  Institute.  This  very 
useful  palm  has  a  creeping  stem-root  like  a  nipa 
palm.  When  it  is  fifteen  years  old  it  sends  up  an 
immense  terminal  spike  of  flowers,  after  which  it  dies. 
It  is  not  so  tall  as  a  cocoanut  tree,  but  is  thicker  and 
larger.  The  mid-ribs  of  its  immense  leaves  are  twelve 
or  fifteen  feet  long,  and  sometimes  the  lower  part  is  as 
thick  as  a  man's  leg.  They  are  very  light,  consisting 
of  a  firm  pith  covered  with  a  hard  rind.  The  pith  in 
the  upper  part  is  of  snowy  whiteness  and  of  the  con- 
sistency of  a  hardish  pear,  with  woody  fibres  running 
through  it  a  quarter  of  an  inch  from  each  other.  The 
pith  is  pounded  by  a  club  while  still  in  the  trunk.  It 
is  then  washed  in  a  kind  of  trough  formed  of  the 
large  sheathing  bases  of  the  leaves.  A  net-like 
strainer  is  made  from  the  fibrous  covering  from  the 
leaf-stalks  of  the  cocoanuts.  The  trough  being  deep 
at  the  centre  and  shallow  at  the  ends,  the  starch 
which  is  dissolved  sinks  down  to  the  bottom  of  the 
trough,  while  the  water  runs  away  from  the  upper 
part.  It  is  then  made  into  bundles  of  60  lbs.  or  80  lbs. 
each,  encased  in  the  sheathing  bases  of  the  leaves, 
and  kept  for  use  or  barter.  It  has  a  reddish  tinge^ 
and  being  made  up  soon  spoils.  Rewashed  and 
thoroughly  dried  it  makes  good  sago,  and  keeps  a 
long  time. 

The  natives  have  also  abundance  of  wild  fruits  and 
edible  roots,  amongst  which  may  be  mentioned  the 
bread  fruit,  mango,  wild  date,  rose  apple,  and  native 
plum.      Nature  bountifully  supplies   them    with   the 


MURRAY   ISLAND   BY   MOONLIGHT. 


THEIR  MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS.  121 

necessaries  of  life.  For  plates  they  use  wooden 
platters,  plaited  cocoanut  leaves,  and  the  beautiful 
banana  leaf  Knives  and  forks  are  easily  made  from 
bamboos,  and  spoons  from  pearl  and  cocoanut  shells. 
Some  cook  in  earthenware  pots,  others  on  hot  stones. 
Their  plantations  are  carefully  cultivated  and  well 
fenced  in.  I  have  seen  miles  of  them  looking  like 
well-kept  gardens.  The  soil  is  turned  over  with 
pointed  sticks  by  the  men,  the  women  following, 
breaking  it  up  and  throwing  out  the  weeds.  The 
yams,  bananas,  etc.,  are  planted  in  straight  rows,  for 
which  purpose  they  use  a  line,  and  the  bunches  of 
bananas  are  carefully  preserved  from  the  birds  by 
being  encased  in  dried  banana  leaves.  In  the  vicinity 
of  the  Fly  River  they  drain  the  land  by  means  of  deep 
trenches,  which  reveal  to  the  stranger  the  great  depth 
of  the  rich  alluvial  soil.  These  trenches  are  well 
made  and  carefully  kept,  and  bridged  over  wherever 
there  is  a  road.  In  visiting  a  village  off  one  of  the 
arms  of  the  Fly  River,  about  thirty  miles  from  the 
coast,  I  was  surprised  to  find  such  luxuriant  vege- 
tation, well-cultivated  plantations,  numerous  deeply 
dug  trenches,  and  apparently  abundance  of  food 
everywhere.  Some  of  these  inland  tribes  trade  with 
those  on  the  coast,  bartering  vegetables,  paradise 
birds'  feathers,  etc.,  in  exchange  for  fish  and  salt. 
The  women  generally  do  the  bartering,  and  are  very 
noisy  and  acute  in  the  transaction. 

In  Hood  Lagoon  there  is  a  village  of  agriculturists 
close  to  one  of  fishermen,  where  there  is  a  regular 
market  for  the  almost  daily  exchange  of  their  fish 
and  vegetables.  It  is  a  regular  Billingsgate.  To  see 
the  women  exhibiting  their  fish  to  the  best  advantage 


122  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS, 

is  really  amusing.  The  chief  articles  of  barter  amongst 
the  natives  however  are  pottery,  sago,  pearl  shells, 
armlets,  and  canoes.  The  last-named  are  generally 
obtained  in  exchange  for  armlets  and  pearl  shell ;  one 
large  size  armlet  being  the  price  of  a  fully  equipped 
canoe,  or  equivalent  to  a  man  ;  i.e.  if  a  person  is  killed 
an  armlet  will  generally  atone  for  the  offence  and 
prevent  a  war.  The  armlets  are  made  from  the  heads 
of  conical  shells  found  in  Torres  Straits  and  off  the 
east  end  of  New  Guinea.  Fish  are  mostly  caught  by 
nets,  though  often  by  line  and  hook,  and  sometimes  by 
spear.  I  have  seen  them  catching  sardines  in  a  very 
ingenious  way.  These  small  fish  move  about  the  reef 
in  immense  shoals.  They  keep  close  together,  and 
move  on  very  slowly  in  a  compact  body.  The  natives 
have  a  hand-basket,  which  is  strongly,  neatly,  and 
lightly  made  in  the  shape  of  an  extinguisher.  The 
fisherman  stands  with  this  in  his  hand  opposite  the 
shoals  which  are  near  the  beach.  On  each  side  of 
him  stands  a  man  with  a  long  bamboo,  on  the  end  of 
which  is  fixed  a  light  ball.  When  all  are  ready  these 
two  men  rapidly  push  their  poles  into  the  shoal  at  an 
angle,  allowing  them  to  meet  at  the  ends,  which  of 
course  causes  the  sardines  to  retreat  from  the  pole- 
heads,  and  as  they  dart  towards  the  beach,  the  man 
with  the  basket  at  the  same  instant  plunges  in  and 
scoops  them  out.  This  is  repeated  along  the  beach, 
and  they  follow  the  sardines  until  they  have  as  many 
as  they  want.  Dugong  are  speared  from  a  platform 
erected  on  the  reef. 

Turtle  are  very  cleverly  caught  at  sea.  On  our 
way  to  and  from  the  Fly  River  we  often  catch  them. 
When  seen  lying  listlessly  on  the  surface,  the  boat  is 


THEm   MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS.  123 

steered  towards  it.  A  native  fastens  a  small  rope  to 
his  arm,  others  stand  by  ready  to  haul  in,  and  there 
is  perfect  silence  whilst  the  boat  glides  up  to  the  mon- 
ster. It  generally  gets  close  up  to  the  turtle  before  the 
latter  is  aware.  The  moment  it  dives  the  man  with 
the  rope  fastened  to  his  arm  plunges  in,  and  as  he  can 
dive  quicker  than  the  turtle,  he  soon  catches  it  and 
seizes  the  shell  firmly  with  both  arms,  giving  the  signal 
to  pull.  Now  the  excitement  on  deck  becomes  intense 
as  the  natives  haul  in  the  rope.  Presently  there  is  a 
most  ludicrous  scene.  Man  and  turtle  both  appear, 
the  one  on  top  of  the  other,  holding  on  for  dear  life, 
both  turning  over  and  over  like  a  patent  log  as  they 
are  dragged  along  by  the  boat.  Another  native  jumps 
in  and  fastens  a  rope  to  the  arm  of  the  turtle,  by 
which  those  on  board  haul  it  on  deck.  Green  turtle 
weigh  from  300  lbs.  to  600  lbs.  each.  The  students  in 
our  Papuan  seminary  caught  sixteen  the  year  before 
I  left  for  the  Christmas  feast.  The  eggs  are  considered 
a  great  delicacy  by  the  natives.  Sandbanks  and  unin- 
habited islands  are  the  most  likely  places  to  find  them. 
Whenever  we  anchor  for  the  night  at  such  places, 
the  natives  go  ashore  with  pointed  sticks  or  small 
iron  bars,  with  which  they  probe  the  sand  in  likely 
places,  examining  the  points  carefully  to  see  if  they 
are  wet.  As  soon  as  they  see  any  indication  of  having 
probed  an  ^gg  they  quickly  remove  the  sand,  and 
often  find  as  many  as  1 50  or  200  eggs  in  a  nest.  It 
is  at  these  places  that  the  turtle  are  most  easily  and 
plentifully  caught.  The  natives  remain  on  shore  during 
the  night,  and  when  the  turtle  come  up  on  the  beach 
beyond  highwater  mark  to  lay  their  eggs,  the  natives 
go  quietly  and  turn  them  over  on  their  backs,  which 


124  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS, 

renders  them  helpless.     They  sometimes  get  half  a 
dozen  in  a  night  in  this  way. 

Their  hunting  is  confined  to  the  kangaroo,  wild  pig, 
and  cassowary,  these  being  the  only  animals  there  are 
to  hunt  in  New  Guinea.  Kangaroos  are  caught  with 
strong  nets,  into  which  they  are  driven  by  setting  fire 
to  the  long  grass  in  front  of  the  nets,  the  natives 
guarding  the  sides  to  prevent  their  escape,  and  so 
driving  them  into  the  semicircle  formed  by  the  net. 
The  ends  are  then  drawn  together  and  the  circle 
gradually  lessened,  surrounded  by  the  natives,  who, 
when  the  circle  becomes  small  enough,  commence  a 
general  slaughter.  They  catch  as  many  as  forty  at 
once  in  this  way.  The  cassowaries  are  more  difficult 
to  obtain.  To  secure  them  the  natives  use  spears  and 
bows  and  arrows.  The  wild  boar  hunt  is  the  most 
dangerous  and  exciting,  in  which  spears  are  almost 
exclusively  used.  The  animal  often  turns  upon  its 
pursuers,  and  is  not  unfrequently  victorious  in  the 
encounter.  I  know  of  two  instances  where  the  struggle 
proved  fatal  to  both  hunter  and  hunted.  Not  long  ago 
a  war  party  were  proceeding  to  a  bush  village  near  the 
Fly  River,  on  a  skull-hunting  expedition.  Their  road 
lay  through  a  forest  of  tall  trees  where  wild  pigs 
abound.  They  had  not  gone  far  when  one  crossed 
their  path.  Spears  and  arrows  instantly  flew  after  it, 
but  missed.  Some  of  the  men  pursued,  but  being 
intent  on  the  business  of  war,  soon  returned.  One 
man  however  continued  the  chase,  whom  they  found 
on  their  return  lying  at  the  root  of  a  tree  gored  to 
death,  the  boar  also  lying  dead  not  far  off.  The  con- 
dition of  both  showed  that  there  must  have  been  a 
fearful  struggle  for  life. 


THEIR  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS.  125 

The  smoking  practised  by  the  natives  is  worthy 
of  remark.  When  it  was  introduced  we  cannot  say. 
In  1 87 1  we  found  the  natives  at  Saibai  and  Katau 
smoking  from  bamboo  pipes,  and  on  our  voyages 
up  the  Baxter  and  Fly  rivers  found  tobacco  plan- 
tations far  in  the  interior.  On  the  south-east  penin- 
sula however  it  is  a  recently  acquired  habit.  They 
did  not  know  the  use  of  tobacco  when  we  first  met  • 
them.  They  have  learnt  to  smoke  from  foreigners. 
It  is  also  very  probable  that  the  natives  of  the 
Fly  River  district  acquired  the  habit  from  the  Torres 
Straits  natives,  who  most  likely  were  taught  by  the 
early  beche  de  mer  fishers.  Wherever  it  came  from, 
the  habit  is  now  universal  amongst  all  the  tribes 
with  which  we  are  acquainted  ;  men,  women,  and 
children,  old  and  young,  all  smoke,  and  tobacco  is 
the  most  eagerly  sought  article  of  trade.  They  use 
bamboo  pipes,  from  two  to  four  feet  in  length,  orna- 
mented with  fanciful  designs,  burnt  in.  All  the 
sections  of  the  bamboo  are  opened  except  the  end 
one,  near  which  a  small  hole  is  made,  giving  it  the 
appearance  of  a  flute.  On  the  peninsula,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Port  Moresby,  the  tobacco  is  rolled  in  a 
leaf,  and  the  smoke  inhaled  from  the  end  of  the 
bamboo.  In  the  Gulf  they  place  the  tobacco  in  a 
small  bamboo,  about  four  inches  long  and  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  in  appearance  like  a 
large  cigar.  This  they  insert  in  a  small  hole  of  the 
pipe,  and  place  the  lighted  end  in  their  mouth,  as  boys 
place  a  lighted  candle.  They  blow  the  large  bamboo 
full  of  smoke,  then  take  out  the  small  bamboo  and 
inhale  the  smoke  from  the  small  hole,  taking  one  pull 
and  handing  it  on.     When  empty,  it  is  handed  back 


126  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

to  the  young  man  who  is  manipulating,  and  he  repeats 
the  performance. 

The  well-known  Fijian  custom  of  kava-drinking  is 
not  practised  on  the  south-east  peninsula  at  all,  so  far 
as  we  know,  but  I  find  that  it  exists  amongst  the 
natives  of  the  great  body  of  the  island  near  the  Fly 
River,  although  there  is  a  difference — if  no  improve- 
ment— in  the  way  in  which  it  is  prepared.  In  the 
South  Sea  Islands  it  is  the  girls  who  make  it ;  here  it 
is  the  boys  who  chew  the  root. 

The  Gulf  tribes  also  tattoo  differently  from  those 
on  the  peninsula.  The  latter  do  it  in  the  ordinary 
way  by  painting  and  pricking  the  skin,  like  the  New 
Zealanders  ;  whilst  the  former  do  it  by  cutting  and 
inserting  into  the  wound  powdered  shell,  which  gives 
it  when  healed  a  swollen,  rib-like  appearance.  This 
custom  is  practised  also  amongst  the  aborigines  of 
Australia.  The  cuts  vary  in  length  according  to  the 
part  of  the  body  where  they  are  made. 

The  natives  of  both  sexes  are  as  fond  of  ornamenting 
their  bodies  as  the  belles  and  swells  in  our  own  coun- 
try. They  do  not  wear  much  clothing  in  their  heathen 
state,  nor  do  they  require  it  in  such  a  hot  climate,  but 
they  use  a  profusion  of  ornaments  and  paint.  The 
hair  is  frizzed  out  carefully  and  cut  in  fantastic  shapes. 
Sometimes  it  is  done  up  in  scores  of  small  curls  like 
whipcords,  from  which  are  suspended  portions  of 
human  bones.  I  have  a  segment  of  a  human  back- 
bone that  I  cut  from  the  back  hair  of  a  young  cannibal. 
They  use  a  variety  of  head-dress  made  chiefly  from 
paradise  birds'  plumes  and  cassowary  feathers.  Their 
necklaces  are  made  of  white  and  red  coral  beads  of 
their   own    manufacture,  which  involve  an    immense 


THEIR  MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS.  127 

amount  of  labour  and  are  greatly  prized.  Some  are 
made  of  dogs'  and  kangaroos'  feet.  A  large  pearl 
shell  cut  in  the  form  of  a  crescent  and  ornamented  is 
worn  on  the  breast,  suspended  from  the  neck.  Ear- 
rings are  made  from  turtle  shell.  I  have  got  as  many 
as  twenty-five  small  rings  from  the  lobe  of  one  ear. 
They  have  many  ways  of  decorating  their  ears.  The 
lobe  is  generally  pierced, and  the  hole  greatly  distended 
by  inserting  bits  of  wood  and  a  piece  of  the  strong 
part  of  the  cocoanut  leaf,  which  acts  like  a  spring. 
When  the  surface  has  become  large  and  set  it  is  filled 
with  ear-rings.  In  some  cases  it  is  severed,  and  a 
weight  attached  to  the  end,  which  is  worn  till  the 
elongated  lobe  hangs  like  a  tassel  from  the  ear.  This 
is  then  pierced  with  small  holes,  which  extend  all 
round  the  edge  of  the  ear,  and  coral  beads  laced  along 
both  sides,  which  they  consider  looks  very  handsome. 
The  septum  of  the  nose  is  also  pierced,  and  a  neatly 
prepared  piece  of  shell,  like  a  clay  pipe-stem  slightly 
curved,  from  four  to  eight  inches  long,  inserted.  The 
arms  are  decorated  with  bracelets  and  shell  armlets, 
and  white  cowries  are  tied  to  the  legs  just  under  the 
knee.  Add  to  all  this  a  painted  face,  flowers,  and  gay 
crotons  fastened  to  the  arms  and  legs,  and  you  will 
form  an  idea  of  a  New  Guinea  native  in  full  dress 
ready  for  the  dance,  of  which  they  never  seem  to  get 
tired.  Night  after  night  you  hear  the  drums  beating, 
the  noise  often  continuing  till  daybreak. 


SJ!  VA  GEDOM  v.  CHRISTENDOM. 
HAVE  chosen  the  heading  of  this 
chapter  as  a  fit  subject  for  a  few 
concluding  remarks  upon  the  natives 
of  New  Guinea.  We  all  doubtless 
believe  that  we  belong  to  one  of  the 
most  civilized  nations  on  the  face 
of  the  earth,  that  we  have  made 
and  are  still  making  wonderful  pro- 
gress, and  we  look  down  upon  savages  (some  with  pity, 
others  with  contempt,  and  many  with  indifference) 
as  being  far  below  us.  Yet  few  seriously  consider, 
amidst  this  intellectual  and  material  advancement, 
what  is  really  the  end  aimed  at.  What  is  the 
ideally  perfect  social  state  towards  which  mankind 
ever  has  been  and  still  is  tending?     There  must  be 

129 


I30  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

some  goal,  some  state  of  perfection  which  we  may 
never  reach,  but  to  which  all  true  progress  must  bring 
us  nearer.  Our  best  thinkers  maintain  that  "  it  is  a 
state  of  individual  freedom  and  self-government,  ren- 
dered possible  by  the  equal  development  and  just 
balance  of  the  intellectual,  moral,  and  physical  parts 
of  our  nature — a  state  in  which  we  shall  each  be  so 
perfectly  fitted  for  social  existence  by  knowing  what 
is  right,  and  at  the  same  time  feeling  an  irresistible 
impulse  to  do  what  we  know  to  be  right,  that  all  laws 
and  all  punishments  shall  be  unnecessary.  In  such  a 
state  every  man  would  have  a  sufficiently  well-balanced 
intellectual  organization  to  understand  the  moral  law 
in  all  its  details,  and  would  require  no  other  motive 
but  the  free  impulses  of  his  own  nature  to  obey  that 
law."  Now  where  do  we  find  the  nearest  approach  to 
such  a  perfect  social  state  ?  Amongst  savage  or  civi- 
lized nations  ?  Some  say  that  it  is  to  be  found  in  one 
part,  and  some  in  another  of  Christendom  ;  but  who 
ever  thinks  of  looking  for  such  a  state  of  things  in 
savagedom  ?  And  yet  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that 
I  have  found  the  natives  in  the  South  Seas  and  New 
Guinea,  in  their  low  state  of  civilization,  approaching 
nearer  that  ideal  perfect  social  state.  My  object  in 
this  chapter  is  to  lead  the  reader  to  consider  a  few 
things  which  may  be  observed  in  each  of  these  king- 
doms worthy  the  attention  of  all  who  are  interested 
in  human  progress.  First  let  us  take  a  peep  at 
savagedom. 

Many  people  form  their  opinion  of  savagedom  from 
the  miserable  hordes  of  natives  that  hang  on  the 
skirts  of  European  settlements,  leading  a  precarious 
and  vagabond  existence.     These  are  too  commonly 


SAVAGEDOM   VERSUS  CHRISTENDOM.       131 

composed  of  degraded  beings,  corrupted  and  enfeebled 
by  the  vices  of  society  without  being  benefited  by  its 
civilization.  Their  spirits  are  humiliated  and  debased 
by  a  sense  of  inferiority,  and  their  native  courage 
cowed  and  daunted  by  the  superior  knowledge  and 
power  of  their  enlightened  neighbours.  Society  has 
advanced  upon  them  like  one  of  those  withering  airs 
that  will  sometimes  spread  desolation  over  a  whole 
region  of  fertility.  It  has  enervated  their  strength, 
multiplied  their  diseases,  and  added  to  their  original 
barbarity  the  low  vices  of  artificial  life.  It  has  given 
them  a  thousand  superfluous  wants,  leading  to  selfish- 
ness, covetousness,  and  arousing  the  basest  passions 
of  the  soul.  They  become  drunken,  indolent,  feeble, 
thievish,  and  pusillanimous.  In  savage  life  they  were 
gentlemen,  as  far  as  having  the  means  to  supply  their 
wants  goes  to  make  a  gentleman  ;  but  in  the  face  of 
civilization  they  feel  keenly  their  numerous  wants  and 
repine  in  hopeless  poverty,  which,  like  a  canker  of  the 
mind,  corrodes  their  spirits  and  blights  the  free  and 
noble  qualities  of  their  nature.  Like  vagrants  they 
loiter  about  the  settlements,  once  their  happy  hunting 
grounds,  now  covered  with  spacious  dwellings  replete 
with  elaborate  comforts,  which  only  render  them 
sensible  of  the  comparative  wretchedness  of  their  own 
condition.  Luxury  spreads  its  ample  board  before 
their  eyes,  but  they  are  excluded  from  the  banquet 
Plenty  revels  over  the  fields,  but  they  are  stai-ving  in 
the  midst  of  its  abundance.  The  whole  wilderness 
has  blossomed  into  a  garden,  but  they  feel  as  reptiles 
that  infest  it. 

It  is  not  amongst  this  class  that  we  must  look  for 
the   "noble  savage,"  not  where  civilization   has  met 


132  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

him  and  clothed  him  in  its  most  filthy  garments,  but 
in  New  Guinea,  where  the  natives  are  found  in  their 
primitive  simplicity,  the  undisputed  iords  of  the  soil, 
displaying  a  proud  independence,  their  lives  void  of 
care,  and  with  little  to  excite  either  ambition  or 
jealousy,  as  they  see  every  one  around  them  sharing 
the  same  lot,  enduring  the  same  hardships,  feeding  on 
the  same  food,  and  arrayed  in  the  same  rude  garments. 
They  have  no  laws  or  law  courts  (so  far  as  we  know), 
but  the  public  opinion  of  the  village  freely  expressed. 
Each  man  respects  the  rights  of  his  fellows,  and  any 
infraction  of  those  rights  very  rarely  takes  place.  In 
these  communities  all  are  nearly  equal.  There  are 
none  of  those  wide  distinctions  of  education  and 
ignorance,  wealth  and  poverty,  master  and  servant, 
which  are  the  product  of  our  civilization.  There  is 
none  of  that  widespread  division  of  labour,  which, 
while  it  increases  wealth,  produces  also  conflicting 
interests.  There  is  not  that  severe  competition  and 
struggle  for  existence,  or  for  wealth,  which  the  dense 
population  of  civilized  countries  inevitably  creates. 
All  incitements  to  great  crimes  are  thus  wanting,  and 
petty  ones  are  suppressed,  partly  by  the  influence  of 
public  opinion,  but  chiefly  by  that  natural  sense  of 
justice  and  of  his  neighbours'  rights  which  seems  to 
be  in  some  degree  inherent  in  every  race  of  man. 
These  remarks  of  course  apply  to  separate  communi- 
ties. There  are  tribal  wars,  as  in  civilized  countries, 
although  the  natives  do  not  yet  understand  the  art  of 
wholesale  slaughter  as  we  do,  and  moreover  the  man 
who  makes  the  quarrel  has  to  lead  in  the  fight.  Still 
they  consider  it  perfectly  right  to  plunder  and  kill 
the  enemy 


SAVAGEDOM    VERSUS  CHRISTENDOM.       133 

Now  look  at  Christendom  and  civilization.  What 
do  we  find  ?  Take  our  country  for  example.  We 
are  the  richest  nation  in  the  world,  and  yet  one- 
twentieth  of  our  population  are  parish  paupers,  and 
one-thirtieth  known  criminals.  Add  to  these  the 
criminals  who  escape  detection,  and  the  poor  who  live 
mainly  on  private  charity — which,  according  to  Dr. 
Hawkesley,  expends  ;^7,ooo,ooo  sterling  annually  in 
London  alone, — and  we  may  be  sure  that  more  than 
one-tenth  of  our  population  are  actually  paupers  or 
criminals.  Each  criminal  costs  us  annually  in  our 
prisons  more  than  the  wages  of  an  honest  agricul- 
tural labourer.  We  allow  over  100,000  persons  known 
to  have  no  means  of  subsistence  but  crime  to  remain 
at  large,  and  prey  upon  the  community.  Yet  we  like 
to  boast  of  our  rapid  increase  in  wealth,  of  our  enor- 
mous commerce  and  gigantic  manufactures,  of  our 
mechanical  skill  and  scientific  knowledge,  of  our 
high  civilization  and  Christianity,  although  perhaps 
it  might  be  more  justly  termed  a  state  of  social 
barbarism. 

Nearly  all  of  us,  I  suppose,  associate  savages  with 
dark  skins,  and  seem  to  think  that  white  savages 
cannot  exist,  but  only  people,  who,  if  trouble  enough 
were  taken,  and  money  enough  spent,  would  become, 
at  least  to  an  endurable  degree,  civilized  persons. 
They  do  not  wish,  it  is  alleged,  to  be  savages,  and 
are  only  forced  into  that  condition  by  the  pressure  of 
circumstances,  lasting  perhaps  for  generations.  That 
comforting  theory  may  of  course  be  true,  for  we 
hardly  know  what  effects  generations  of  untoward 
circumstances  will  cause  ;  but  those  of  us  who  have 
been  behind  the  scenes  in  the  South  Sea  Islands, 
10 


134  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

New  Guinea,  and  in  some  of  the  large  cities  in  this 
country,  know  very  well  there  are  thousands  of  per- 
sons (and  some  of  them  well  educated)  who  hate 
civilization,  with  all  its  restraints,  with  a  hatred  which 
is  incurable  by  any  fear,  or  any  reward,  or  any  kind 
of  inspection.  They  are  not  criminals,  as  a  rule,  any 
more  than  the  wild  tribes  are  ;  but  they  are  savages, 
loving  above  all  things  to  live  lives  untrammelled  by 
the  infinite  series  of  minute  restraints  and  obligations 
which  go  to  make  up  civilization.  \{  the  climate  is 
cold,  they  will  wear  clothes — they  will  hardly  do  that 
in  warm  climates, — but  that  is  the  sole  concession  they 
will  make  to  the  claims  of  civilization.  They  do  not 
care  to  clean  anything,  or  preserve  anything,  or  pro- 
vide for  anything.  It  is  useless  to  give  them  furni- 
ture, for  they  prefer  to  camp  ;  useless  to  store  food 
for  them,  for  they  will  consume  it  all  at  once.  They 
will  work  when  there  is  nothing  to  eat,  but  if  they  are 
full  they  abhor  work  until  they  are  empty  again.  It  is 
possible  to  live  without  washing,  or  decency,  or  furni- 
ture, or  foresight,  or  care  ;  and  they  prefer  so  to  live, 
though  the  result  seems  to  the  civilized  unqualified 
misery  and  pain.  They  do  not  think  it  unqualified, 
but  qualified  very  greatly  by  their  freedom,  holding 
only  three  things  to  be  essential,  food,  sleep,  and 
wives,  and  only  three  to  be  luxuries — more  food 
drink,  and  tobacco,  just  as  the  millions  do  whom  we 
all  agree  in  calling  savages. 

I  have  no  hesitation  in  pronouncing  the  savages  of 
Christendom  infinitely  worse  than  those  of  heathen- 
dom, and  infinitely  more  difficult  to  improve.  And 
whatever  my  views  may  be  about  the  "  development 
theory,"  I  am  forced,  from  known  cases,  to  admit  the 


SAVAGEDOM    VERSUS  CHRISTENDOM,       135 

possibility  of  complete  retrogression  from  a  civilized 
state,  although  many  writers  deny  it.  And  I  believe 
that  in  every  civilized  community  there  is  a  con- 
siderable percentage  of  both  men  and  women,  to 
whom  the  first  condition  of  external  civilization, 
the  incessant  taking  of  minute  trouble,  is  utterly 
hateful,  and  who,  if  left  to  themselves,  would  not 
take  it,  but  would  prefer  a  condition  of  pure  savagery. 
The  rich,  of  course,  seldom  reveal  this  disposition, 
because  others  take  the  trouble  for  them  ;  but  un- 
skilled labourers  in  this  country,  who  earn  possibly 
only  twelve  shillings  a  week,  who  know  nothing,  and 
are  pressed  by  no  public  opinion,  are  constantly 
tempted  to  throw  off  the  burden  of  respectability, 
abandon  furniture,  give  up  the  small  decencies  and 
formalities  of  life,  and  camp  in  a  room  on  straw,  as 
uncleanly  and  nearly  as  free  as  savages  would  be. 
They  live  from  hand  to  mouth,  shift  from  room  to 
room,  are  beyond  prosecution  for  money,  drink  if 
they  have  the  cash,  smoke  somehow  whether  they 
have  it  or  not,  and  are  perfectly  indifferent  to  the 
opinion  of  society — are,  in  fact,  savages. 

Now  I  can  conceive  but  one  remedy  for  this  sava- 
gery wherever  it  exists,  and  that  is  religion — a  pure, 
simple,  elevating  religion,  like  that  of  Jesus  Christ. 
You  cannot  elevate  savage  tribes  in  heathendom  by 
giving  them  tomahawks  and  tobacco,  beads  and 
blankets  ;  for  they  will  soon  sell  these,  and  even 
their  food,  for  brandy.  Nor  can  you  elevate  the 
savages  of  Christendom  by  putting  them  in  good 
houses  and  providing  them  with  honest  work,  for 
very  soon  your  model  houses  would  be  like  styes, 
and  the  honest  work  abandoned.     My  contention  is 


136  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

however  that,  supposing  both  classes  of  savages  to 
embrace  the  gospel,  those  of  heathendom  find  them- 
selves nearer  the  goal  which  civilization  has  been 
aiming  at  and  striving  ibr  during  many  centuries. 
What  we  are  pleased  to  term  civilization  generally 
begins  in  despotism,  or,  I  might  even  say,  in  murder 
and  plunder.  A  country  is  seized,  the  land  appro- 
priated, and  the  natives  subdued,  and  placed  under 
laws.  Then,  as  education  advances,  and  the  subdued 
begin  to  feel  their  power,  the  struggle  begins,  and 
goes  on  for  ages,  between  radicals  and  conserva- 
tives ;  the  one  trying  to  regain  the  rights  and  liber- 
ties of  their  fathers,  and  the  other  trying  to  retain 
what  was  gained  by  conquest.  All  I  can  say  is,  that 
I  devoutly  hope  that  New  Guinea  may  be  preserved 
from  such  civilizing  influences. 


MISSION   STATION,  '" 

MABUIAG. 

VI  I. 

NATIVE    AGENCY  AND 
NATIVE   CHURCHES. 


NE  of  the  greatest  peculiarities  of 
the  spread  of  Christianity  in  the 
South  Pacific  and  New  Guinea  is 
"I  the  work  accompHshed  by  native 
agency.  From  Tahiti  to  New 
Guinea,  the  native  converts  have 
been  the  pioneer  evangelists. 
Island  after  island,  and  group 
after  group,  first  learnt  the  message  of  love  from 
the  lips  of  these  simple,  earnest,  faithful  men  and 
their  heroic  wives.  These  native  teachers  are  better 
acquainted  with  the  habits  and  manners  and  customs 
of  the  heathen  than  missionaries  are,  and  so  are  well 


_ ,/ 


138  AMONG    THE   CANMBALS. 

adapted  to  fill  the  gap  between  the  debased  savage 
and  the  European  missionary.  They  quite  naturally 
avoid  mistakes  and  dangers  which  a  young  missionary, 
in  all  the  plenitude  of  his  wisdom,  is  apt  to  make 
amongst  a  savage  people.  No  amount  of  piety  or 
zeal  or  intelligence,  or  all  combined,  will  preserve 
a  man  from  falling  into  grave  errors,  if  he  lacks 
experience. 

My  experience  goes  to  show  that  our  native  teachers 
can  get  at  the  heathen  of  their  class,  and  influence 
them  in  favour  of  Christianity,  quicker  than  European 
missionaries.  So  that  a  missionary  is  not  making  the 
most  of  his  time  when  he  settles  down  amongst  a 
savage  people  to  do  that  which  a  native  teacher  can 
do  quite  as  well.  There  is  plenty  of  work  for  a 
missionary  to  do,  that  a  native  teacher  cannot  do.  It 
requires  the  educated  European  missionary  to  reduce 
the  languages  to  writing,  and  to  translate  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  prepare  school  books ;  to  establish  and 
superintend  schools,  and  train  a  native  ministry  ;  and 
above  all,  in  a  new  mission,  to  move  about  as  rapidly 
as  possible,  directing,  stimulating,  and  protecting  the 
native  teachers.  This  is  the  machinery  which  requires 
to  be  well  oiled,  and  kept  in  good  working  order,  and 
which  has  been  used  more  in  the  South  Sea  than 
perhaps  in  any  other  mission,  and  with  the  most 
encouraging  results. 

Most  people  in  this  country  have  but  a  very  inde- 
finite idea  of  what  sort  of  a  person  a  native  teacher 
really  is.  He  is  not  like  your  village  schoolmaster,  or 
your  local  preacher,  or  indeed  any  agency  with  which 
you  are  acquainted.  The  eight  pioneer  teachers  with 
whom  we  commenced  the  New  Guinea  Mission,  for 


NATIVE  AGENCY  AND  NATIVE  CHURCHES.     139 

instance,  were  all  the  sons  of  cannibals,  indeed  two  of 
them  had  themselves  been  cannibals.  Some  of  our 
best  teachers  are  removed  but  one  generation  ahead 
of  the*  cannibals  amongst  whom  they  labour.  I  have 
known  some  of  them  who  could  scarcely  read  or 
write.  As  soon  as  they  lay  hold  of  the  primitive 
truths  of  Christianity,  or  rather,  as  soon  as  those 
truths  lay  hold  upon  them,  they  are  anxious  to  be 
sent  to  convey  the  glad  tidings  to  the  islands  beyond. 
They  may  not  have  taken  their  degrees  in  science  and 
divinity,  but  they  have  in  prayer  and  faith.  They 
may  know  nothing  about  the  theory  of  evolution, 
but  they  know  something  about  the  transforming 
power  of  the  gospel.  To  hear  them  pray  and  preach 
is  to  be  convinced  of  the  reality  of  their  conver- 
sion, and  of  their  faith  in  the  simple,  full,  and  free 
gospel. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  however  that  our  native 
teachers  are,  as  a  rule,  u. /educated.  One  of  the  eight 
Loyalty  islanders  with  whom  we  commenced  the 
New  Guinea  Mission  in  1871,  and  who  is  still  doing 
good  service  in  that  difficult  field,  where  so  many 
of  his  comrades  have  fallen  around  him,  can  speak 
and  write  four  languages  fluently,  besides  possessing 
a  very  fair  knowledge  of  English,  being  able  to  read 
the  English  Bible,  and  write  a  tolerably  good  English 
letter.  I  have  seen  long  letters  which  he  has  written 
to  a  Queensland  magistrate,  a  friend  of  mine,  which 
give  evidence  of  a  fair  English  education.  His  father 
was  a  cannibal.  Another  of  the  eight  pioneers  can 
also  speak  and  write  four  languages,  and  he  also  has 
a  fair  knowledge  of  the  English  language.  He  has 
translated  the  Gospel  of  Mark  from  the  Lifuan  into 


140  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

one  of  the  New  Guinea  languages,  also  a  catechism 
and  small  hymn-book.  Of  course  there  must  be 
many  imperfections  in  translating  the  Scriptures  from 
ciny  but  the  original  languages,  even  if  done  by  a 
European  missionary.  Still  it  is  a  great  work  for 
a  native  teacher,  the  son  of  a  cannibal,  to  undertake 
and  accomplish. 

The  native  teachers  from  Eastern  Polynesia,  where 
the  power  of  Christianity  has  been  felt  for  a  much 
longer  period,  are  further  advanced  in  civilization 
than  those  from  Western  Polynesia.  RarotQngan 
teachers  especially  are  fine,  strong,  energetic,  and 
intelligent  natives,  who  make  the  best  Polynesian 
pioneer  evangelists,  and  who  have  done  splendid  work 
in  Western  Polynesia  and  New  Guinea. 

It  will  appear  from  what  I  have  said  about  the 
the  New  Guinea  pioneer  native  teachers,  that  some 
of  these  men  are  real  heroes,  and  are  accompanied  by 
heroic  wives.  They  will  settle  down  amongst  tribes, 
however  savage,  and  brave  dangers,  however  great,  in 
order  to  teach  their  fellow  men  the  message  of  the 
Cross.  This  spirit  is  well  illustrated  in  the  words 
and  conduct  of  one  of  the  Lifu  men  that  I  trained 
and  took  to  New  Guinea  in  1871.  A  party  were 
sitting  round  the  fire  in  the  cocoanut  grove,  at  one  of 
our  stations,  eating  sugarcane,  and  drinking  cocoa- 
nuts,  whilst  the  teacher  told  them  of  the  wonderful 
effects  of  the  gospel  upon  the  South  Sea  islanders. 
When  he  expressed  his  intention  to  carry  the  gospel 
to  a  neighbouring  heathen  district,  the  natives  at 
once  and  unanimously  opposed  it,  saying  that  it  was 
madness  to  think  of  going  there.  It  was  very  difficult 
to  get  at,  on  account  of  reefs  and  banks  and  currents ; 


NATIVE  AGENCY  AND  NATIVE  CHURCHES.     141 

that  the  river  was  full  of  crocodiles,  and  the  bush  full 
of  snakes,  etc. 

"  Are  there  any  people  there  ?  "  asked  the  teacher. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  they  replied ;  "  but  they  are  dreadful 
savages  and  cannibals,  great  warriors,  and  very 
treacherous." 

"That  is  enough,"  said  the  teacher ;  "  wherever 
there  are  people,  missio7iaries  must  go!* 

And  these  good  men,  when  they  are  appointed  to 
a  station,  do  not  always  wait  to  be  taken  there  in  the 
mission  vessel  and  introduced  by  the  missionaries  in 
the  usual  way. 

Pao,  for  instance,  the  energetic,  devoted,  and  brave 
apostle  of  Lifu,  was  left  at  Mare  with  the  teachers 
appointed  to  that  island,  until  the  return  of  the  John 
Williams.  Pao  grew  impatient  however  to  get  to 
his  sphere  of  labour.  Long  before  the  return  of  the 
mission  vessel,  Pao  might  be  seen  with  his  com- 
panions in  a  canoe  which  he  had  prepared,  with  his 
Rarotongan  Bible  and  a  few  clothes  tied  in  a  bundle 
and  stowed  away  in  the  end  of  his  small  craft,  hoist- 
ing his  mat  sail  to  a  gentle  breeze  one  fine  morning 
and  starting  for  Lifu,  forty  miles  distant.  What  must 
have  been  his  feelings,  as  he  sat  in  the  stern  of  that 
little  canoe,  with  his  long  paddle  guiding  her  as  she 
sped  over  the  crested  waves  !  And  when  he  sighted 
the  island,  what  peculiar  emotions  must  have  struggled 
in  his  breast !  How  he  would  grasp  more  firmly  the 
steering-paddle  and  eagerly  watch  the  island  as  it 
appeared  to  rise  inch  by  inch  to  view  1  And  as  they 
neared  the  island,  and  began  to  discern  the  houses  or 
huts,  then  the  natives,  and  approaching  the  reef  saw 
them  assembled  on  the  beach  all  armed,  his  feelings 


142  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

may  be  better  imagined  than  described.  He  did  nc^ 
however,  as  many  missionaries  do,  haul  down  his  sail, 
and  paddle  about  outside  the  reef,  waiting  for  some 
canoe  to  come  off  to  get  information  ;  he  dashed  over 
it  and  sailed  right  on  to  the  beach,  and  placed  him- 
self at  once  in  the  hands  of  the  natives.  The  king 
received  him  as  his  enemu  (friend),  and  so  the  good 
work  began.  Had  the  king  regarded  him  as  an 
enemy,  he  would  have  been  clubbed,  cooked,  and 
eaten. 

One  of  the  Lifu  teachers  whom  I  left  at  Darnley 
in  1 87 1  to  become  acquainted  with  the  language  and 
people  before  taking  him  to  Murray,  seems  to  have 
remembered  Pao's  action  at  Lifu,  and  followed  his  ex- 
ample. He  also  crossed  over  in  a  canoe,  which  he  had 
made,  from  Darnley  to  Murray,  and  landed  amongst 
the  natives,  who  were  then  wild,  naked  savages. 
And  in  this  way  these  good  men  have  been  the  real 
pioneers  in  Polynesia  and  New  Guinea.  There  are 
some  islands  in  the  South  Sea  where  they  have  had 
no  other  missionaries  than  these  native  teachers,  and 
yet  the  populations  have  become  Christian,  good 
stone  churches  have  been  built,  schools  established 
and  kept  in  good  working  order,  and  the  whole  made 
self-supporting.  Of  course  the  teachers  have  been 
visited  annually  by  European  missionaries,  and  would 
not,  it  must  be  admitted,  accomplish  much  without 
such  supervision. 

The  following  is  the  testimony  of  the  police  magis- 
trate of  Cooktown,  who  paid  a  semi-official  visit  to 
our  mission  stations,  and  whose  report  was  published 
in  the  Queenslander  : 

"  I  had  many  opportunities  of  closely  observing  the  South  Sea 


NATIVE  AGENCY  AND  NATIVE  CHURCHES.    143 

Island  teachers,  male  and  female,  having  had  them  frequently 
at  my  house  at  Cooktovvn,  having  travelled  with  them  almost 
daily  during  my  stay  in  New  Guinea,  having  been  a  frequent 
visitor  to  their  houses  and  a  partaker  of  their  hospitality.  I 
found  them  to  be  a  most  excellent  people,  physically  and  men- 
tally of  a  superior  class.  They  are  a  devoted  and  self-sacri- 
ficing body  of  men.  Many  of  them  in  their  own  islands  were 
men  of  property  and  influence,  but  have  given  up  all  those 
advantages  to  assist  in  spreading  the  gospel,  which  they  had 
themselves  received  from  the  missionaries,  among  the  savage 
and  benighted  inhabitants  of  New  Guinea.  Nor  in  doing  this 
can  they  be  said  to  be  influenced  by  mercenary  motives  or  hope 
of  profit.  The  London  Missionary  Society  pays  them  £10  a 
year  each,  not  a  very  magnificent  sum  for  the  services  of  two 
people,  a  man  and  his  wife  both  fairly  educated.  They  are  not 
permitted  to  trade  with  the  natives  except  for  articles  necessary 
for  their  subsistence,  such  as  an  occasional  pig,  yams,  cocoa- 
nuts,  and  the  like.  Many  of  these  men  have  proved  their 
devotion  by  the  sacrifice  of  their  lives,  and  have  died  either  by 
the  club  of  the  savage  native,  or  from  the  scarcely  less  deadly 
influence  of  the  cHmate  in  some  of  the  localities  where  stations 
were  at  first  formed.  Nor  can  they  even  look  forward  to  a 
posthumous  fame  as  an  incentive  to  their  work  or  as  a  reward 
for  their  zeal.  They  die  by  violence  or  disease,  and  beyond  the 
narrow  circle  of  the  missionaries  or  their  fellow  labourers  nothing 
more  is  heard  of  them.  The  world  knew  them  not,  and  cares 
next  to  nothing  about  their  fate.  The  names  of  John  Williams 
and  Bishop  Patteson  are  widely  known,  and  wherever  known 
deservedly  reverenced  as  martyrs  to  the  cause  to  which  they 
had  devoted  their  energies  and  dedicated  their  fives.  Their 
lives  have  been  written,  their  example  is  cited  as  an  incentive 
to  future  missionaries.  Their  virtues  and  courage,  their  energy 
and  zeal  are  extolled,  and  most  justly.  No  such  distinction 
awaits  the  teacher-martyr  ;  and  yet  martyrs  they  are,  as  true  and 
devoted  as  any  that  fill  the  long  roll  of  those  who  suffered  for 
their  faith.  If  New  Guinea  is  ever  evangelized  it  will  in  a  great 
measure  be  due  to  the  devoted  efforts  of  the  humble  native 
teachers.  All  honour  to  them  !  And,  in  saying  this,  let  me 
not  be  supposed  to  depreciate  the  patience,  the  courage,  the 
energy,  and  perseverance  shown  by  the  European  missionaries 
— their  efforts  are  beyond  all  praise  ;  but  while  fully  and  grate- 


144  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

fully  recognising  their  zeal  and  devotion,  let  us  not  fail  to  do 
justice  to  the  virtues  of  their  humble  coadjutors." 

As  to  the  churches  established  in  Polynesia  and 
New  Guinea,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  their 
organization  and  management  a  good  deal  of  wisdom 
and  foresight,  common  sense  and  sound  piety,  have 
been  displayed  by  the  missionaries.  If  we  take  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  the  epistles  of  Paul,  Peter, 
James,  and  John,  or  the  New  Testament  as  a  whole, 
for  our  guide,  we  shall  find  that  the  churches 
organized  by  nonconformist  missionaries  in  Poly- 
nesia will  compare  favourably  with  the  primitive 
churches  gathered  by  the  apostles  in  various  parts 
of  the  Roman  empire  during  the  first  century  of  the 
Christian  era.  Indeed  in  many  respects  there  is  a 
most  striking  resemblance  between  the  churches 
organized  by  the  apostles  and  the  Polynesian 
churches.  And  the  more  closely  the  examination  is 
made,  and  comparison  drawn,  the  more  manifest  the 
parallel  will  appear.  The  very  language  employed 
by  some  ecclesiastical  historians  respecting  the 
churches  of  the  first  century  would  aptly  describe 
the  organization  of  nonconformist  mission  churches  in 
the  South  Sea  Islands  and  New  Guinea.  All  those 
great  ecclesiastical  establishments,  and  "  Church  and 
State  "  arrangements,  centreing  in  Antioch,  Constan- 
tinople, Rome,  and  elsewhere,  were  an  aftergrowth — 
may  we  not  say  fungus-^xov^Xh.  ? — when  Christianity 
became  corrupt. 

Some  of  our  methods  may  be  a  little  surprising  to 
a  portion  of  the  Christian  public  in  this  country, 
though  they  seem  perfectly  justifiable  to  us,  both 
from   Scripture  and  the   circumstances   of  the   case. 


NATIVE  AGENCY  AND  NATIVE  CHURCHES.    145 

For  instance,  in  our  Loyalty  Islands  mission  we 
made  a  new  departure  in  the  elements  used  at  the 
administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  It  appeared  to 
us  very  incongruous  to  see  what  was  used  for  bread 
and  wine  at  times.  When  the  John  Williams  was 
anxiously  looked  for  by  the  missionary  to  bring  a 
fresh  supply  of  flour,  a  curious  compound  would  be 
made  for  bread ;  and  water,  coloured  with  wine  or 
treacle,  used  as  the  ivine.  Moreover  we  were  training 
a  native  agency,  and  preparing  the  people  to  supply, 
from  amongst  themselves,  the  elements  for  carrying 
on  spiritual  work.  How  would  the  native  pastors  be 
able  to  get  wine  for  this  ordinance  ?  Were  they  to 
seek  it  on  board  the  trading  vessels  that  called  at  the 
islands?  What  sort  of  wine  (!)  would  they  be  likely  to 
get  from  the  traders  ?  And  although  they  might  not 
have  so  much  difficulty  in  obtaining  flour,  what  sort 
of  bf-ead  would  they  make  ?  These  were  plain,  prac- 
tical questions,  which  led  us  to  ask,  What  would 
Christ  Himself  be  most  likely  to  do  under  the  circum- 
stances? and  the  answer  of  reason  and  common  sense, 
borne  out  by  Scripture,  was,  that  He  would  naturally 
use  the  bread  and  wine  of  the  country.  We  accor- 
dingly commenced  a  practice  which  has  now  spread 
nearly  all  over  the  South  Sea  Islands,  of  using  at  the 
ordinance  of  the  Lord's  Supper  the  unmixed  and 
refreshing  milk  from  young  cocoanuts  and  the  pure 
white  yam — the  ordinary  meat  and  drink  of  the 
people.  These  are  used  as  symbols,  just  as  our  Lord 
used  the  ordinary  food  of  the  country  when  He  and 
His  disciples  partook  of  that  memorable  supper.  To 
have  introduced  foreign  bread  and  wine  would  have 
led,  most  likely,  to  undue  importance  being  attached 


146  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

to  the  elements.  Our  object  has  been  to  prevent  any 
mystery  from  gathering  round  the  symbols,  and  direct 
the  attention  of  the  natives  to  what  they  symbolize. 

Then  again,  in  the  matter  of  baptism,  we  have 
adopted,  in  our  New  Guinea  Mission,  a  somewhat 
different  method  from  what  we,  like  the  other  mission- 
aries, pursued  in  the  South  Pacific.  If  a  New  Guinea 
native  wishes  to  embrace  Christianity,  and  we  have 
reason  to  believe  that  he  is  sincere  in  his  renunciation 
of  idolatry,  he  receives  the  ordinance  of  baptism  (and " 
his  family  too,  if  he  has  any),  and  is  placed  under 
special  instruction  in  our  seekers'  class,  until  he  is 
admitted  to  the  church.  Thus  some  of  them  are 
baptized  months  and  even  years  before  they  become 
members  of  the  church  and  partake  of  the  ordinance 
of  the  Lord's  Supper.  We  see  no  scriptural  reason 
for  withholding  baptism  from  those  who  wish  to  join 
the  Christian  community.  It  is  a  public  pledge  of 
their  renouncing  heathenism  and  embracing  Chris- 
tianity. Before  becoming  members  of  the  church 
however,  they  should  know  what  it  means,  and  what 
it  involves,  and  prove  themselves  worthy  of  joining 
that  inner  circle. 

We  have  made  another  departure  in  our  New 
Guinea  Mission  in  the  admission  to  church  fellowship 
of  natives  who  have  more  than  one  wife.  I  must  con- 
fess that,  during  my  missionary  life  at  Lifu,  I  often 
had  serious  misgivings  about  conforming  to  the  usual 
rule  of  requiring  a  native,  with  two  or  three  wives, 
when  he  abandons  idolatry,  to  forsake  them  all,  ex- 
cept one.  Why  should  he  be  required  to  make  this 
selection  ?  The  other  one  or  two  are,  according  to 
the  laws  of  the  country,  as  much  his  wives  as  the  one 


NATIVE  AGENCY  AND  NATIVE  CHURCHES.    147 

selected.  They  are  the  mothers  of  some  of  his  chil- 
dren. In  some  cases  they  have  lived  together  many 
years  in  peace  and  happiness,  and  I  have  known  it  to 
be  very  difficult  for  the  man  to  decide  which  to  retain 
and  which  to  abandon.  The  women  thus  forsaken 
were  exposed  to  temptation  and  ill-treatment,  which 
sometimes  led  to  serious  trouble.  Moreover  such  an 
arrangement  appears  as  unscriptural  as  it  is  unkind 
and  unjust. 

In  beginning  the  New  Guinea  Mission  I  consulted 
with  Dr.  Mullens  and  some  of  the  directors  on  the 
subject,  and  was  pleased  to  find  that  they  also  con- 
sidered the  arrangement  harsh  and  unscriptural.  And 
so  I  determined  not  to  interfere  with  these  social 
relationships  in  which  the  gospel  found  the  people  of 
New  Guinea.  If  a  native  who  has  two  wives  em- 
braces the  gospel,  he  is  not  relieved  of  his  obligations 
to  either,  although,  if  one  dies,  he  cannot  take  another 
in  her  place  so  long  as  he  has  a  wife.  And  of  course 
the  young  men  who  marry  under  the  gospel  dispen- 
sation can  only  take  one  wife.  The  rule  affects  only 
the  mm^ried  heathen  who  embrace  Christianity,  or 
rather  the  small  portion  of  them  who  have  more  than 
one  wife  ;  and  it  seems  to  be  in  harmony  with  the 
teaching  of  the  New  Testament  and  with  reason  and 
common  sense. 

The  polity  of  our  native  churches  is  Congregational. 
They  are  trained  to  select  cmd  provide  for  their 
pastors,  and  manage  their  own  affairs  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. There  is  however  a  very  marked  Presbyterian 
element  manifest  in  that  polity,  the  annual  meeting 
of  missionaries  and  native  pastors  being  a  kind  of 
synod.      Representing  an  undenominational    society. 


148  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

we  do  not  feel  bound  to  follow  any  particular  form 
of  church  government  ;  consequently  we  are  eclectic. 
The  grand  distinguishing  feature  of  these  Poly- 
nesian and  New  Guinea  churches  is  their  zeal  in  mis- 
sionary work.  They  have  experienced  the  blessings 
of  Christianity,  and  they  lay  themselves  and  their 
substance  freely  upon  the  missionary  altar.  With 
many  of  them  the  extension  of  Christ's  kingdom 
becomes  a  passion.  Missionary  meetings  are  the 
most  enthusiastic  gatherings  of  the  natives,  and  to 
become  a  missionary  to  the  heathen  is  the  highest 
ambition  of  Christian  young  men.  The  churches  in 
this  highly  favoured  land  have  much  to  learn  in  this 
respect  from  the  piety,  faith,  and  devotedness  of 
these  young  converts. 


»^ir^. 


VIII. 

RESUL  TS. 

HE  regeneration  of  the  world  being 
God's  work,  we  may  expect  it  to 
proceed  like  all  other  great  changes 
in  the  world  and  the  universe, 
slowly.  Everything  in  nature 
teaches  us  to  work  and  ivait.  No 
form  of  existence  is  presented  at 
once  complete  and  perfect.  The 
forms  of  vegetable  life  have  their 
germination,  their  budding,  their  flowers,  their  ripened 
fruit  or  seed,  their  stately  and  progressive  growth. 
And  when  their  decay  comes  on,  it  is  but  pre- 
paratory to  a  resurrection  of  new  beauty,  without 
11  MP 


ISO  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

any  interruption  to  the  mysterious  continuity  of 
life.  Analogous  to  this  are  the  forms  of  animal 
existence.  A  feeble  beginning ;  a  gradual  growth 
and  development  of  strength,  beauty,  and  sagacity. 
Minerals  are  formed  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth  by 
slow,  secret,  but  sure  processes.  By  the  abrasion  of 
rocks  soils  are  collected,  and  barrenness  is  clothed 
with  verdure,  and  waving  forests  spring  up  and  be- 
come so  ancient  that  no  one  can  tell  the  story  of  their 
birth.  The  ocean  gradually  recedes  from  one  conti- 
nent and  gradually  approaches  another ;  and  the 
headlands  and  harbours  of  the  ancient  navigators  are 
changed.  In  the  ocean  depths  curious  and  minute 
operations  are  busy,  century  after  century,  building 
up  the  coral  caves  and  mountains,  a  fairyland  of  the 
watery  world,  and  the  stable  foundations  of  future 
continents.  Astronomy  teaches  that  in  the  wide  and 
illimitable  space  nebulous  matter  is  gradually  con- 
greting  and  forming  into  new  worlds.  And  thus  crea- 
tion, through  endless  ages,  is  extending  by  processes 
which  appear  to  us  slow,  but  which  are  under  sure 
laws.  Geology  has  detected  in  our  globe  signs  which 
cannot  be  mistaken,  indicating  the  gradual  upbuilding 
of  the  crust  on  which  we  live,  the  formation  of  the 
mountains  and  valleys,  the  rivers,  lakes,  and  oceans. 

God  does  not  complete  His  work  at  once.  The 
wonder,  the  beauty,  and  the  glory  of  His  skill  appear 
in  successive,  and,  we  may  believe,  endless  presenta- 
tions of  new  forms  of  increasing  perfection.  We  may 
expect  therefore  to  find  the  same  gradual  growth  in 
the  moral  and  spiritual  kingdom.  God  has  given  us 
the  seed^  which  is  adapted  to  all  nations.  It  is  not 
our  business  to  try  to  analyse  or  comprehend  it,  but 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND    NOW.  151 

to  plant  it,  according  to  the  command  of  our  Lord. 
In  the  great  work  of  enHghtening  the  world,  we  must 
remember  that,  as  in  the  kingdom  of  nature,  so  in  the 
kingdom  of  God,  the  seed  must  be  sown,  and  sown  in 
harmony  with  the  conditions  that  God  has  established. 
The  work  is  difficult,  and  the  progress  slow.  Still,  it 
is  no  more  so  than  in  the  kingdom  of  nature  ;  and 
the  great  mysteries  of  spiritual  life  and  development 
are  no  greater  than  in  the  seed  ;  and  success  is  given 
in  proportion  to  our  efforts  in  both  cases.  As  we  sow, 
so  shall  we  reap,  in  more  senses  than  one.  Increased 
effort  means  enlarged  success.  Results  however 
must  not  be  judged  by  the  number  of  converts^  but 
rather  by  the  extent  of  our  obedience ;  not  by  the 
number  of  those  who  receive  the  message,  but  by  the 
number  of  those  before  whom  its  grand  persuasives 
have  been  so  faithfully  placed,  that  they  have  been 
obliged  either  to  receive  or  reject  it.  There  are  few 
missions  however  in  which  the  visible  results  have  been 
more  encouraging  than  in  our  New  Guinea  Mission, 
considering  the  time  and  the  means  employed.  The 
first  five  years  were  the  most  trying  time.  They  were 
years  of  disappointment,  sickness,  suffering,  and  death. 
After  the  mission  was  fairly  started  at  the  different 
points  to  which  I  have  referred,  the  progress  became 
steady,  healthy,  and,  on  the  whole,  most  encouraging. 
From  the  central  stations  the  mission  extended 
right  and  left.  In  the  Port  Moresby  district,  our 
energetic  brother  Chalmers  soon  became  acquainted 
with  the  principal  tribes  to  the  east  and  west  of  Port 
Moresby,  and  mission  stations  were  planted  as  far  as 
the  Aroma  district  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Maiva 
district  on  the  other.      Mr.   Lawes   made  occasional 


152  AMONG    THE   CANMBALS. 

trips  to  these  places,  but,  as  a  rule,  he  found  more 
congenial  and  not  less  useful  work  in  teaching  and 
translating  at  the  central  station.  Besides  having  to 
reduce  the  language  to  writing,  translate  the  Scrip- 
tures, prepare  school  books,  and  attend  to  the  schools 
and  native  seminary,  he  very  soon  had  a  good  deal  of 
his  time  occupied  by  European  visitors  and  settlers. 

Port  Moresby  being  a  fine  harbour  and  easy  of 
access,  it  became  the  rendezvous  of  traders,  travellers, 
explorers,  and  a  number  of  those  men  who  seem  to 
be  drifting  about  the  world  with  no  particular  object 
in  view.  Parties  came  to  search  for  gold,  others  to 
look  for  cedar.  Some  came  to  purchase  land  as  a 
speculation,  and  others  to  get  native  labour  for  sugar 
plantations  in  Queensland.  In  fact,  New  Guinea 
began  to  attract  so  much  attention,  that  the  Austra- 
lian colonies  very  naturally  became  alarmed  lest  the 
French  or  Germans,  or  some  other  power  that  might 
become  unfriendly  to  Australia  in  the  future,  should 
step  in  and  annex  the  unclaimed  half  of  this  large  and 
valuable  island,  where  they  might  found  a  colony, 
possessing  magnificent  harbours  and  rivers  and  natural 
resources,  in  dangerous  proximity  to  Australia. 

As  New  Guinea  is  only  ninety  miles  distant,  Queensr 
land,  being  the  adjacent  colony,  naturally  felt  most 
strongly  on  the  subject  ;  and  knowing  how  difficult  it 
would  be  to  convince  the  home  Government  of  the  real 
gravity  of  the  situation,  and  lead  them  to  move  in  the 
matter  in  time  to  keep  others  out,  they  determined  to 
take  possession  first,  and  communicate  with  the  im- 
perial Government  afterwards.  Accordingly  the  police 
magistrate  at  Port  Kennedy  was  sent  across  to  Port 
Moresby,  in  the  man-of-war  schooner  Peail,  to  hoist 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND  NOW.  153 

the  British  flag,  and  proclaim  a  protectorate  over  the 
half  of  New  Guinea  not  claimed  by  the  Dutch.  It 
was  confidently  hoped  that  the  home  Government, 
being  relieved  of  the  responsibility  of  taking  the  ini- 
tiative, would  sanction  this  somewhat  bold  step  of  the 
Queensland  government,  and  thus  acquire  a  valuable 
territory,  and  gratify  her  Australian  colonies,  w^ithout 
costing  her  a  penny  ;  for  the  colonial  governments 
were  prepared  to  take  all  pecuniary  responsibility  in 
the  matter  if  the  authority  was  granted. 

The  home  Government  however  declined  to  sanc- 
tion the  step  taken  by  the  Queensland  government, 
thereby  causing  a  good  deal  of  official  and  news- 
paper correspondence,  which  created  a  very  strong 
feeling  in  the  colonies  at  the  time,  and  which  might 
have  become  serious  had  not  the  home  Govern- 
ment ultimately  consented  to  secure  the  portion  of 
the  island  adjacent  to  Australia.  For  this  purpose 
the  commodore  was  sent  to  Port  Moresby  with 
several  men-of-war  to  proclaim  a  protectorate  over 
the  half  of  the  unclaimed  portion  of  New  Guinea, 
i.e.  over  about  a  quarter  of  the  island — thus  leaving 
an  equal  portion  still  exposed  to  the  French,  to  be 
taken  for  a  convict  settlement,  which  the  Australians 
had  reason  to  dread.  They  felt  that  it  would  be  a 
very  simple  matter  to  proclaim  the  protectorate  over 
the  whole,  just  as  the  Dutch  did  over  the  other  half, 
and  so  secure  it  to  Australia,  to  whom  it  most  natu- 
rally belongs,  and  who  might  in  future  be  embarrassed 
by  some  powerful  and  unfriendly  neighbour.  The 
imperial  Government  however  thought  it  sufficient  to 
proclaim  to  the  world  that  it  would  consider  it  an 
unfriendly  act  in  any  power  to  take  possession  of  the 


154  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

adjacent  unannexed  portion  ;  notwithstanding  which 
the  Germans  immediately  annexed  the  territory  in 
question.  It  is  some  satisfaction  to  feel  that  we  have 
at  least  got  good  neighbours  and  good  colonists. 
That  the  whole  of  New  Guinea  will  ultimately  be- 
long to  Australia  there  can  be  but  little  doubt.  It  is 
only  a  question  of  time  ;  so  that  most  Australians 
regard  all  who  go  to  New  Guinea,  to  spend  life  and 
money  in  developing  the  country,  as  contributing  to 
the  future  greatness  of  Australia.  Still  they  feel  that 
future  complications  might  have  been  prevented  by 
the  home  government  sanctioning  the  hoisting  of  the 
British  flag  in  New  Guinea  by  the  government  of 
Queensland. 

I  need  not  describe  the  ceremonies  connected  with 
establishing  the  protectorate.  They  are  matters  of 
history.  They  all  took  place  on  the  south-east 
peninsula  at  different  points,  the  navigation  being 
considered  too  dangerous  for  the  men-of-war  to  visit 
the  western  branch  of  our  mission,  and  hoist  the  flag 
on  the  great  body  of  the  island,  in  or  near  the  Fly 
River.  This  accounts  for  my  not  being  present  at 
these  ceremonies,  which  caused  some  surprise  and 
inquiries  amongst  many  friends.  To  meet  with 
officers  of  her  majesty's  ships  in  the  mission  field, 
and  especially  in  New  Guinea,  has  always  been  to 
me  a  source  of  real  enjoyment  ;  so  that  it  was  at  con- 
siderable self-sacrifice  that  I  remained  at  my  work  in 
the  Papuan  Gulf  whilst  these  gentlemen  were  on  the 
coast  of  the  peninsula,  a  couple  of  hundred  miles 
away.  My  colleagues,  Messrs.  Lawes  and  Chalmers^ 
were  on  the  spot,  so  that  my  services  were  not  re- 
quired ;  hence  my  duty  was  plain.     Had  the  commo- 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND  NOW.  155 

dore  wished  to  visit  the  Fly  or  adjacent  rivers,  or 
any  part  of  the  western  district,  I  should  have  been 
pleased  to  place  my  services  at  his  disposal. 

Port  Moresby  soon  became  the  centre  of  an  active 
Government  staff,  chief  of  which  was  Sir  Peter 
Scratchley,  as  high  commissioner,  who  in  a  very 
short  time  died  from  the  fever  of  the  country,  and 
was  succeeded  by  the  Hon.  John  Douglas,  C.M.G., 
late  premier  of  Queensland,  a  gentleman  whose  ap- 
pointment gave  great  satisfaction  to  all  the  Australian 
colonies,  where  he  is  well  known  and  highly  respected. 
Mr.  Douglas  was  fortunate  in  having  as  his  lieutenant 
a  young  gentleman  of  ability  and  enthusiasm — Mr. 
Musgrave,  the  nephew  of  the  governor  of  Queens- 
land, who  told  me  that  New  Guinea  had  been  the 
dream  of  his  nephew's  life.  I  made  his  acquaintance 
at  Port  Moresby,  where  he  has  been  for  years  actively 
engaged  in  carrying  on  the  government  for  the  benefit 
of  both  natives  and  Europeans.  In  fact,  he  is  spoken 
of  there  as  "the  government."  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  his  successful  administration  in  New  Guinea 
is  due  largely  to  the  splendid  training  he  received  under 
his  distinguished  uncle.  Sir  Anthony  Musgrave. 

The  influx  of  explorers,  travellers,  traders,  etc.,  to 
Port  Moresby,  whilst  often  forming  an  agreeable 
break  in  the  monotony  of  missionary  life  in  such 
places,  often  also  interferes  seriously  with  missionary 
work,  and  especially  where  there  is  a  training  in- 
stitution for  the  education  of  native  teachers.  The 
young  students  learn  more  at  a  port  than  we  like 
them  to  know.  Hence  in  Samoa  the  missionaries 
established  the  native  seminary  at  Malua,  which  is 
about  twelve  miles  from  the  port,  and  they  found  it 


156  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

quite  near  enough.  For  the  same  reason  I  selected 
Murray  Island,  instead  of  Darnley,  for  the  Papuan 
Institute,  and  have  had  abundant  reason  to  be  thank- 
ful for  being  so  guided  in  my  choice  ;  so  that  from  a 
missionary  point  of  view  it  would  have  been  better 
if  the  Government  had  selected  some  other  place 
than  Port  Moresby  as  the  base  of  their  operations. 
It  was  perfectly  natural  however  that  they  should 
make  that  their  headquarters.  It  was  discovered 
by  Captain  Moresby.  It  is  a  fine  harbour  ;  easily 
approached  from  the  sea,  and  being  about  the  middle 
of  the  peninsula,  is  central  for  governing  British  New 
Guinea. 

The  demands  made  upon  the  time  of  Messrs. 
Lawes  and  Chalmers  by  the  arrival  of  Government 
officials,  explorers,  travellers,  and  traders  was  very 
considerable,  the  latter  often  accompanying  the  men- 
of-war  to  different  parts  of  the  peninsula,  whilst  the 
former  had  his  duties  increased  at  the  port  Both 
however  very  willingly  rendered  what  service  they 
could,  which  was  often  of  great  benefit  to  the  natives. 
Whilst  Mr.  Lawes  devoted  himself  to  educational 
work  and  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures  and  pre- 
paration of  school  books,  Mr.  Chalmers  found  con- 
genial work  for  his  restless,  energetic  spirit  in  extend- 
ing the  mission  westward,  towards  the  great  body  of 
New  Guinea,  amongst  the  cannibal  tribes,  where  the 
Port  Moresby  canoes  are  accustomed  to  go  during 
the  summer  months  to  barter  their  pottery  for  sago. 
Westward  from  Port  Moresby  the  tribes  become 
more  numerous  and  more  warlike,  and  as  the  Papuan 
Gulf  is  approached,  the  cannibals  begin  to  appear. 
Mr.  Chalmers  has  published  an    interesting  account 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND  NOW.  157 

of    these    journeys    and    his    intercourse    with    the 
natives. 

Whilst  the  mission  was  being  extended  by  my 
colleagues  in  the  central  branch,  I  was  busy  with 
my  faithful  lieutenants  (the  Loyalty  Islands  teachers) 
doing  similar  work  in  the  eastern  and  western 
branches.  The  mission  station  on  Stacey  Island, 
near  South  Cape,  where  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Chalmers  first 
settled  when  they  joined  our  New  Guinea  Mission, 
was  continued  by  Rarotongan  teachers,  and  occa- 
sionally visited  by  Mr.  Chalmers  ;  all  the  others  in 
the  eastern  district  were  conducted  by  teachers  from 
Lifu  and  Mare,  and  by  local  preachers  who  were 
trained  by  our  teachers,  and  who  rendered  good  ser- 
vice. I  purchased  an  old  weather-board  building  in 
Cooktown,  which  had  been  used  as  a  store,  took  it  over 
in  the  Ellengowan^  and  erected  it  on  Samarai  (Dinner 
Island),  where  it  still  stands  as  the  mission  house,  sur- 
rounded by  other  buildings  and  native  plantations, 
the  rendezvous  of  the  surrounding  tribes,  especially 
during  the  visits  of  the  missionary  or  men-of-war. 
This  was  the  centre  from  which  we  branched  out  in  all 
directions,  forming  mission  stations  on  both  sides  of 
Milne  Bay,  on  the  large  islands  (Heath  and  Haytor) 
in  China  Straits,  as  well  as  on  those  off  the  east  end  of 
New  Guinea,  as  far  as  the  Engineer  Group,  where  I 
formed  a  mission  station  at  the  village  of  the  notorious 
old  cannibal  chief  Aualu,  of  whom  and  of  whose  last 
cannibal  feast  I  have  already  written.  By  steadily 
pursuing  these  methods,  and  as  opportunity  offered, 
and  the  staff  of  native  helpers  at  our  disposal  admitted, 
gradually  extending  our  operations  in  all  directions, 
the  work  has  grown  larger  and  more  important. 


158  AMONG    THE  CANNIBALS. 

Superintending  the  eastern  branch  of  the  mission 
necessitated  my  being  away  from  my  home  in  the 
western  branch  a  good  deal,  the  time  of  absence  vary- 
ing from  four  weeks  to  five  months.  I  had  to  pass 
Port  Moresby  to  reach  East  Cape,  which  afforded  an 
opportunity  for  intercourse  with  the  brethren  there  ; 
and  I  generally  called  with  supplies  for  the  Raro- 
tongan  teachers  on  my  way  eastward,  Mr.  Chalmers 
doing  the  same  for  the  Lifu  and  Mare  teachers  in  the 
eastern  branch,  when  he  visited  his  station  at  Stacey 
Island.  We  were  each  obliged  to  superintend  our 
own  teachers,  wherever  they  might  be  located,  as  I 
could  not  talk  to  the  Rarotongans  in  their  language, 
any  more  than  Messrs.  Lawes  and  Chalmers  could  talk 
to  the  Lifu  and  Mare  men  in  theirs  ;  and  moreover  no 
one  can  manage  these  Polynesian  teachers  like  their 
own  missionaries.  I  was  delighted  therefore  when 
Messrs.  Sharpe  and  Savage  arrived  from  England  to 
take  charge  of  this  eastern  branch  of  our  mission. 

It  was  quite  a  red-letter  day  when  I  introduced 
them  to  the  teachers  and  people  as  the  missionaries 
who  were  going  to  settle  amongst  them.  They 
assembled  in  great  numbers  from  all  sides,  bringing 
presents  of  food  of  all  kinds,  and  in  the  best  way 
they  could  conceive  showed  their  delight  and  grati- 
tude. The  missionaries  were  greatly  pleased  with  all 
they  saw,  and  after  carefully  surveying  the  whole 
district,  decided  to  make  their  headquarters  at 
Samarai,  which  I  had  selected  six  years  before  as 
being  the  most  suitable  place  for  the  central  sta- 
tion. Both  Messrs.  Sharpe  and  Savage  however  got 
their  baptism  of  fever  at  Port  Moresby,  whilst  on 
their  way  to  settle  at  China  Straits  ;  from  which  the 


DINNER    ISLAND    (SAMARAl),   CHINA  STRAITS. 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND  NOW.  159 

former  died,  the  latter  proceeding  to  Murray  Island, 
where  he  recovered,  and  joined  the  western  branch  of 
the  mission.  The  Rev.  Albert  Pearse,  who  for  many 
years  has  been  labouring  in  the  South  Pacific,  has  been 
appointed  to  carry  on  the  work  in  this  most  interest- 
ing and  most  successful  branch  of  our  mission.  Some 
of  our  Lifu  and  Mare  teachers  have  died,  and  the 
remainder  have  returned  to  their  homes,  their  places 
being  filled  by  Eastern  Polynesian  teachers,  some  of 
whom  have  been  trained  by  Mr.  Pearse,  and  with 
whose  language  he  is,  of  course,  familiar.  He  has 
for  his  colleague  a  young  man  whom  I  met  several 
years  ago  in  Adelaide.  He  was  then  a  very  promis- 
ing student  in  the  college  there,  and  spoken  of  very 
highly  by  the  professors  and  ministers,  who  expressed 
their  disappointment  at  his  wish  to  go  to  New 
Guinea,  regarding  him  as  a  man  likely  to  make  his 
mark  amongst  the  churches  at  home.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  eastern  branch  of  our  mission  will 
rapidly  develop  under  the  management  of  two  such 
men,  with  a  staff  of  teachers  who  regard  Mr.  Pearse 
as  their  father,  and  a  seminary  that  will  soon  supply 
evangelists  from  amongst  the  people  themselves. 

The  natives  throughout  the  district  are  begging  for 
teachers  to  be  located  amongst  them.  Many  of  the 
towns  and  villages  have  given  up  war  and  cannibalism, 
refrain  from  work  on  Sundays,  and  even  conduct 
public  worship  amongst  themselves  as  best  they  can. 
Indeed  they  are  in  pretty  much  the  same  state  as  the 
masses  of  Malagasy  were  during  those  memorable  and 
anxious  years  immediately  after  the  queen  declared 
herself  a  Christian.  At  the  stations  where  the  teachers 
are  settled,  the  people  are  more  advanced.     Schools 


i6o  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS, 

are  established,  and  many  of  the  natives  can  read  and 
write  ;  hundreds  of  them  have  renounced  idolatry, 
and  been  baptized.  I  have  myself  baptized  about 
five  hundred  natives  in  the  East  Cape  district,  and 
Mr.  Chalmers  has  done  similar  work  in  the  South 
Cape  branch.  The  teachers  in  both  districts  have, 
with  our  help,  reduced  the  languages  to  writing,  and 
translated  portions  of  Scripture,  which  have  been 
printed  in  Sydney.  Thus  it  w^ill  be  seen  that  the 
eastern  branch  of  the  New  Guinea  Mission  is  in  a 
very  hopeful  condition.  Were  it  not  for  the  fever  of 
the  country,  this  would  be  one  of  the  most  en- 
couraging and  delightful  mission  fields  in  the  world. 

In  the  western  branch  we  have  more  difficulties  to 
contend  with  than  either  in  the  central  or  eastern 
districts.  The  country  is  low  and  swampy,  intersected 
by  rivers  and  creeks,  and  studded  with  islands.  The 
inhabitants  (who  are  numerous  on  the  coast  and  on 
the  banks  of  the  rivers  near  the  sea)  are  a  wild,  war- 
like race  of  cannibals  and  skull-hunters,  who  delight 
in  war  and  plunder,  making  frequent  voyages  for 
the  express  purpose.  It  is  impossible  for  foreigners 
to  live  throughout  the  year  on  this  low  land.  To 
attempt  to  form  our  central  station  on  the  mainland 
in  this  part  of  New  Guinea  would  have  been  to  prove 
my  unfitness  to  establish  and  superintend  a  mission  in 
this  district.  The  first  consideration  of  a  missionary 
who  has  a  foreign  native  agency  under  his  care  in 
a  sickly  country  is  to  provide,  if  possible,  a  sanatorium 
at  some  central  point,  which  may  not  only  become  a 
refuge  in  times  of  sickness  and  danger,  but  also  an 
educational  centre,  where  the  missionary  can  carry  on 
his  work  of   instruction   and  translation,  and  where 


RESULTS:    THEN  AXD   NOW.  16 1 

he  and  his  wife  can  attend  to  the  wants  of  the  sick 
teachers,  instead  of  their  having  to  be  nursed  by  them. 
We  should  have  Hked  to  find  such  an  island  as  Murray 
nearer  the  mainland  ;  it  would  have  greatly  facilitated 
our  work  in  the  Papuan  Gulf.  Still  the  most  distant 
point  and  mission  station  in  that  district  is  not  nearly 
so  far  from  Murray  Island  as  some  of  the  mission 
stations  in  the  central  district  are  from  Port  Moresby. 
So  that  Murray  is  tolerably  central,  and  unquestionably 
the  most  healthy  point  in  the  New  Guinea  mission. 

Before  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Chalmers,  Mr.  Lawes  and 
I  arranged  that  the  western  branch  of  our  mission 
should  extend  eastward  as  far  as  Yule  Island.  My 
plan  for  working  this  district  was  to  establish  our 
headquarters  at  Murray  Island,  which  is  central,  and 
then  attack  the  district  from  each  end.  Accordingly 
I  established  a  mission  station  on  Yule  Island  in  the 
east,  and  on  Talbot  Island  in  the  west,  the  latter 
being  at  the  mouth  of  the  Baxter  River,  the  former  in 
Hall  Sound,  hoping  that  the  mission  would  extend 
eastward  and  westward,  till  the  workers  met  about 
the  Aird  River.  Although  we  had  to  sail  across  the 
Papuan  Gulf  in  order  to  reach  Yule  Island  from  Mur- 
ray, a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  still, 
considering  that  there  is  a  fair  wind  both  ways  during 
both  monsoons,  and  that  we  can  leave  Yule  Island  in 
the  evening,  and  be  at  Murray  by  noon  next  day,  and 
vice  versa,  it  will  be  seen  that  our  central  station  was 
convenient  for  both  ends  of  the  district,  as  well  as  for 
the  Fly  River,  which  is  immediately  opposite. 

Yule  Island  is  one  of  the  most  important  points  in 
British  New  Guinea,  as  a  government,  missionary, 
or   commercial    centre.      Between  it  and    the  main- 


162  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

land  there  is  a  magnificent  harbour,  known  as  Hall 
Sound.  The  island  itself  is  beautiful  and  fertile,  one 
of  the  prettiest  sights  along  the  coast,  the  glorious 
grass  and  forests  of  trees  on  the  green-clad  hills  and 
sunny  slopes  giving  it  the  appearance  of  park-land. 
The  back  country,  east  and  west,  is  rich  and  thickly 
populated,  whilst  Mount  Yule  lifts  its  giant  head 
ii,ooo  feet  above  the  sea,  in  solemn  grandeur,  appa- 
rently surveying  and  guarding  the  district. 

I  have  a  lively  recollection  of  our  first  landing  at 
this  place.  The  natives  had  a  bad  reputation,  so  we 
arranged  our  plans  accordingly.  Leaving  our  steamer 
EUengoivan  in  Hall  Sound,  with  the  captain  and 
European  portion  of  the  crew,  I  proceeded  with  our 
Lifu  and  Mare  teachers  and  sailors  in  an  open  boat, 
to  the  principal  village,  which  was  about  two  miles 
distant.  As  we  pulled  along  the  coast  inside  the  reef, 
we  saw  the  naked,  painted  savages  assembling  on  the 
beach  with  their  weapons,  and  in  a  gathering  crowd 
hastening  to  the  place  of  landing.  On  such  occasions 
I  usually  appoint  two  men  to  remain  in  the  boat, 
which  they  keep  afloat  in  readiness,  whilst  the  others 
accompany  me  on  shore,  to  endeavour  to  gain  the 
confidence  of  the  natives,  and  give  them  some  idea  of 
our  object.  Our  intention  was  to  wade  from  the  boat 
when  we  reached  shallow  water  near  the  beach,  leaving 
two  of  our  number  to  push  it  out  a  little,  and  wait  for 
us.  On  several  occasions  I  have  had  cause  to  be 
thankful  that  the  boat  was  thus  in  readiness,  enabling 
us  to  get  quickly  away  from  hostile  demonstrations, 
and  even  flying  arrows  and  spears.  These  Yule  island- 
ers however  quite  upset  our  plans.  The  crowd  stood 
on  the   beach  watching   their   opportunity,  and    the 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND   NOW.  163 

moment  we  got  within  reach  they  dashed  into  the 
sea,  seized  the  boat,  and  dragged  it  up  the  beach, 
before  we  had  time  to  leave  it,  until  it  was  far  beyond 
high-water  mark,  the  bows  being  right  in  the  bush 
This  was  done  amidst  great  noise  and  excitement, 
and  when  accompHshed,  they  motioned  to  us  to  leave 
the  boat.  There  was  a  comical  side  even  to  that 
situation,  for  the  two  men  who  were  to  have  remained 
in  the  boat,  looking  a  little  bewildered,  asked,  "  What 
about  keeping  the  boat  in  deep  water  ?  "  There  was 
a  determined  expression  on  the  countenances  of  the 
others  as  they  turned  towards  me  for  the  reply,  which 
seemed  to  say,  "  Just  give  the  word,  and  we  will  take 
the  boat  back  in  spite  of  them."  "  Never  mind  the 
boat,"  I  said;  "jump  out,  and  let  us  all  go  together  to 
the  village.  Make  good  use  of  your  eyes,  your  ears 
are  of  little  use  here." 

The  moment  we  jumped  out  of  the  boat  we  were 
all  "  taken  in  charge."  The  chief  seized  me  by  the 
hand.  The  South  Sea  islanders  accompanying  me 
were  each  taken  in  the  same  way,  and  we  were  all 
marched  along  a  narrow  path  through  the  bush.  As 
the  village  is  generally  near  the  beach,  we  were  not 
only  surprised,  but,  I  confess,  considerably  alarmed 
after  walking  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  without  seeing 
any  signs  of  either  village  or  plantations.  My  native 
companions  were  well  acquainted  with  the  manners 
and  customs  and  stratagems  of  such  people,  having 
themselves  been  born  and  bred  in  similar  circum- 
stances, and  they  advised  that  we  should  make  a 
stand  and  try  and  get  back  to  the  boat.  "These 
people,"  they  said,  "  are  only  taking  us  into  the  bush 
to  kill  us."  Although  generally  guided  by  them  in 
12 


I64  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

such  matters,  I  felt  that  on  this  occasion  it  would  be 
unwise  to  follow  their  advice,  seeing  that  the  conduct 
of  the  natives  would  bear  a  favourable  as  well  as  an 
adverse  interpretation.  I  therefore  ordered  the  con- 
tinuation of  our  journey,  and  was  delighted  to  find 
soon  afterwards  that  we  had,  at  least,  arrived  at  the 
village.  It  was  a  large  cleared  space  in  the  forest, 
with  neat  and  well-built  houses  all  round,  and  a  ros- 
trum in  the  middle,  to  which  we  were  conducted,  and 
where  presents  were  exchanged,  and  a  friendly  feeling 
established,  which  led  to  the  formation  of  a  mission 
station  on  my  next  trip. 

I  regularly  visited  this  island  for  several  years.  It 
was  one  of  our  wooding  stations  when  we  had  the 
steamer  Ellengowan,  and  I  was  hoping  that  it  would 
soon  become  one  of  our  central  stations.  Indeed, 
Dr.  Turner,  on  his  arrival,  was  seriously  thinking  of 
settling  there,  and  accompanied  me  over  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  island,  looking  for  the  most  suitable  site 
for  his  house.  I  was  obliged  to  remove  the  teachers 
when  a  neighbouring  tribe  murdered  Dr.  James  and 
Captain  Thorngren,  who  were  engaged  collecting 
natural  history  specimens.  The  whole  district  was 
in  such  an  excited  state  about  the  massacre,  that  I 
deemed  it  prudent  to  remove  the  teachers  for  a  time. 
Mr.  Chalmers,  soon  after  his  arrival  in  New  Guinea, 
reopened  the  mission  with  some  of  his  Rarotongan 
teachers,  forming  the  station  on  the  mainland  oppo- 
site, considering  that  point  a  more  convenient  centre 
for  the  populous  district.  The  Roman  Catholic 
priests,  who  have  followed  us  in  our  missions  in 
the  South  Sea  Islands,  arrived  soon  afterwards,  and 
finding  Yule  Island  unoccupied  by  our  society,  estab- 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND  NOW.  165 

lished  themselves  there.  Judging  from  their  conduct 
in  the  Pacific,  they  would  probably  have  settled  at 
this  important  centre,  even  if  we  had  had  a  native 
teacher  living  at  the  old  station  ;  .but  our  mission 
station  having  been  moved  to  the  opposite  side  of  the 
harbour,  gave  them  a  good  opportunity  and  excuse 
for  making  Yule  Island  the  basis  of  their  operations, 
of  which  they  were  not  slow  to  avail  themselves. 

I  met  the  two  French  priests  at  Thursday  Island, 
on  their  arrival  to  commence  their  mission  on  New 
Guinea,  having  been  asked  by  the  collector  of  customs 
to  act  as  interpreter  for  him.  I  called  upon  them 
afterwards  and  had  a  friendly  interv^iew,  during  which 
I  endeavoured  to  persuade  them  to  commence  their 
mission  on  a  part  of  the  island  beyond  the  boun- 
dary occupied  by  the  London  Missionary  Society,  in 
order  to  avoid  misunderstandings  and  trouble  and 
collisions,  which  not  only  hinder  the  progress  of 
Christianity,  but  are  a  disgrace  to  it.  The  high 
commissioner,  Sir  Peter  Scratchley,  also  urged  upon 
them  the  same  course  ;  but  their  reply  was,  that  they 
were  under  orders  from  Rome,  and  had  no  alternative 
but  to  settle  in  some  part  of  British  New  Guinea,  and 
as  our  society  had  no  station  on  Yule  Island,  they 
regarded  that  as  the  most  suitable  place  for  them. 
They  have  now  quite  a  staff  of  priests,  laymen,  and 
sisters  of  mercy  there,  right  in  the  middle  of  our 
mission  field.  We  may  be  thankful  that  our  Govern- 
ment have  taken  possession  of  that  portion  of  New 
Guinea  where  our  mission  work  is  carried  on,  other- 
wise we  might  have  a  repetition  of  the  policy  pursued 
by  the  French  in  the  South  Pacific  and  Madagascar. 

Leaving  the  Yiile  Island  district  to  the  care  of  my 


l66  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS, 

colleagues,  Messrs.  Lawes  and  Chalmers,  I  turned  my 
attention  to  the  establishment  of  mission  stations  on 
the  banks  of  the  Fly  and  Katau  rivers,  and  their  back 
country. 

It  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  latter  river  that  we 
formed  our  first  mission  station  on  the  mainland  of 
New  Guinea,  but  owing  to  the  very  malarious  charac- 
ter of  the  country,  our  Lifu  and  Mare  teachers  were 
unable  to  remain  there.  For  twelve  years  we  tried 
the  place  with  eight  different  South  Sea  Island 
teachers,  all  of  whom  were  obliged  to  leave  on  ac- 
count of  the  deadly  fever  of  the  district,  and  all  would 
probably  have  died  if  we  had  not  had  a  sanatorium 
provided  for  them  on  an  island  in  Torres  Straits, 
where  they  all  recovered,  and  were  appointed  to  other 
stations.  The  old  chief  Maino  was  our  friend  all 
along,  although  he  had  a  weakness  for  cutting  off  the 
heads  of  his  enemies,  and  declined  to  embrace  Chris- 
tianity because  its  precepts  forbade  him  this  pleasure. 
The  last  time  I  saw  him  (he  died  two  or  three  years 
ago)  he  was  sitting,  as  usual,  cross-legged,  on  a  mat 
in  front  of  his  house,  waiting  to  receive  us,  and  look- 
ing as  dirty  and  as  ugly  and  as  great  a  savage  as 
when  I  first  saw  him  thirteen  years  before.  He  was 
getting  too  old  to  pursue  his  favourite  sport,  skull- 
hunting.  His  son  and  successor  is  a  fine,  tall,  power- 
ful man,  who  attached  himself  to  the  teachers  from 
the  first,  and  by  whom  he  was  educated.  He  has  been 
for  many  years  an  earnest  Christian  and  indefatigable 
local  preacher.  Owing  to  our  South  Sea  Island 
teachers  being  unable  to  remain  at  the  place  for  more 
than  short  periods,  very  little  was  done  for  the  elevation 
of  the  people  during  the  first  twelve  years,  until  we  got 


RESULTS:   THEN  AND  NO IV,  167 

teachers  ready  from  our  Papuan  Institute,  who  are 
accustomed  to  the  cHmate.  It  was  after  these  good 
men  had  permanently  settled  at  Katau  and  Tureture, 
that  I  determined  to  commence  a  mission  amongst 
the  inland  tribes  in  the  back  country,  a  short  account 
of  which  may  be  interesting. 

Having  taken  teachers  from  our  Papuan  Institute, 
we  proceeded  to  Saibai,  where  I  remained  two  days, 
holding  the  usual  meetings,  examinations,  services, 
and  administering  the  sacrament.  We  then  organized 
an  expedition  to  visit  the  bush  tribes,  who  had  ex- 
pressed a  desire  to  see  the  white  missionary  and  have 
a  teacher  located  amongst  them.  I  had  two  teachers 
from  our  Papuan  seminary  with  me  for  this  purpose. 
In  forming  stations  on  the  coast,  the  presence  of  our 
mission  vessel  has  a  salutary  effect  upon  the  natives. 
They  see  that  the  teachers  are  not  like  driftwood,  but 
are  well  supported  and  will  be  looked  after.  To  make 
a  similar  impression  upon  the  minds  of  the  savages 
inland,  it  is  desirable  that  the  teachers  be  accompanied 
by  a  large  number  of  their  friends.  About  sixty  of  the 
Saibaians  readily  volunteered,  the  bush  between  the 
coast  and  the  place  where  we  were  to  meet  the  bush 
tribes  by  appointment  being  good  hunting  ground 
for  kangaroos,  cassowaries,  wild  fowl,  and  pigs.  We 
started  in  the  Venture  (mission  boat)  and  seven 
canoes,  and  proceeded  along  the  coast  eastward  for 
ten  miles  to  the  Mabidauan  River,  where  we  com- 
menced our  journey  inland. 

On  the  western  side  of  this  three-mouthed  river 
there  is  the  only  hill  in  this  part  of  New  Guinea.  It 
is  about  100  feet  high,  and  stretching  away  from  it  to 
the  westward  there  is  very  good  land,  free  from  man- 


i68  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

grove  trees  and  swamps,  with  four  miles  of  a  fine 
sandy  beach.  The  natives  about  this  part  of  the 
coast  have  all  retired  inland  from  fear  of  the  Tuga- 
rian  cannibal  pirates,  who  make  periodical  voyages 
along  the  coast,  murdering  and  plundering  wherever 
they  get  a  chance.  Messengers  had  preceded  us  to 
inform  the  bush  tribes  of  our  approach  and  the  place 
of  meeting.  After  walking  through  six  miles  of  good 
sugar-country  we  arrived  at  the  rendezvous  nearly  two 
hours  before  the  bushmen.  We  hoped  and  desired 
to  see  a  large  gathering  of  the  people,  but  there  were 
only  a  few  representative  men  from  each  of  the  tribes. 
The  bushmen,  as  far  as  I  have  seen  them,  both 
on  the  south-east  peninsula  and  on  the  great  body 
of  the  island,  are  decidedly  inferior  to  the  coast 
tribes  physically,  socially,  and  morally.  They  are 
diminutive  in  stature,  dwell  in  inferior  houses,  and  live 
together  pretty  much  like  fowls.  Skin  diseases  are 
prevalent,  and  I  am  told  that  they  never  wash  them- 
selves. They  greatly  fear  the  coast  tribes,  both  to 
the  east  and  west,  who  for  ages  have  regarded  the 
bush  as  their  happy  skull-hunting  ground,  and  have 
driven  the  inland  tribes  to  select  most  out-of-the-way 
places  for  their  villages,  which,  judging  from  those  I 
have  visited,  are  well  fortified  by  swamps  and  rivers. 
I  proposed  to  the  bush  tribes,  whose  representatives 
met  us,  that  they  should  assemble  at  our  place  of 
rendezvous,  where  their  forefathers  resided,  and  form 
a  township,  assuring  them  that  there  is  no  longer  cause 
to  fear  their  former  enemies  of  Saibai  and  Fly  River, 
as  Christian  teachers  were  now  living  amongst  them. 
They  seemed  very  anxious  to  occupy  their  former 
planting  ground,  and   promised  to  remove  thither  at 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND  NOW.  169 

once  and  build  their  houses,  also  one  for  the  teachers 
who  are  to  reside  with  them.  The  place  is  well  wooded, 
is  near  a  river,  contains  a  cocoanut  grove  and  good 
plantation  ground,  and  my  hope  was  to  see  ere  long 
these  scattered  and  persecuted  tribes  living  unmolested 
with  their  teachers  and  advancing  in  civilization.  We 
returned  to  the  coast,  and  on  our  way  managed  to  bag 
a  cassowary,  two  wild  pigs,  two  kangaroos,  and  a  few 
wild  fowl  and  pigeons. 

We  camped  on  the  beach  for  the  night,  and  very 
soon  the  fires  were  lit  and  the  game  roasting  on 
hot  stones.  Break-winds  were  made  by  a  fence  of 
cocoanut  leaves,  and  I  was  accommodated  with  a  mat 
on  the  ground  and  a  sail  overhead.  It  is  especially 
observable  amongst  the  natives  how  a  good  meal  puts 
everybody  in  a  good  humour.  All  our  party  seemed 
unusually  happy  that  evening.  After  evening  worship 
we  had  a  long  talk  about  their  heathen  customs,  much 
to  the  delight  of  the  old  men,  who  were  the  oracles  of 
the  evening.  The  only  thing  we  had  to  fear  was  rain, 
and  as  there  had  not  been  any  rain  for  months,  we  felt 
pretty  safe,  especially  as  the  night  was  beautifully 
clear.  Owing  to  an  extensive  sand-flat  the  Venture 
was  anchored  nearly  two  miles  off,  so  that  in  any  case 
it  would  be  difficult  to  find  her  at  night.  As  the  even- 
ing advanced  conversation  flagged,  one  after  another 
rolled  himself  up  in  his  mat,  and  the  babel  of  voices 
was  reduced  to  a  few  quiet  conversations  at  different 
fires.  Finally,  silence  and  darkness  reigned,  until  we 
were  all  awoke  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  by 
a  very  formidable  enemy  in  the  shape  of  a  heavy 
downpour  of  rain.  Its  effects  were  highly  amusing, 
as  well  as  decidedly  unpleasant.     The  sleeping  camp 


I/O  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

was  soon  astir ;  silence  gave  place  to  noise  and  con- 
fusion. At  first  we  all  supposed  that  it  was  only  a 
passing  shower,  and  there  was  a  good  deal  of  merri- 
ment amongst  those  who  had  secured  dry  spots  under 
trees,  whilst  others  were  rushing  hither  and  thither  try- 
ing to  improve  their  quarters.  Five  minutes  had  made 
a  most  ludicrous  difference  in  our  camp.  The  natives 
now,  instead  of  being  stretched  on  their  mats  in  every 
direction,  apparently  endeavouring  to  cover  as  much 
space  as  possible,  were  sitting  on  stones  or  pieces  of 
wood  with  their  knees  drawn  up  under  their  chin,  and 
their  mats  over  their  heads.  Fortunately  for  me  1 
had  taken  my  sun  umbrella  on  shore,  under  which, 
like  the  rest,  I  tried  to  occupy  as  little  space  as  pos- 
sible, squatting  like  the  natives,  with  my  pillow  (the 
bag  containing  our  provisions  and  barter  goods)  on 
my  knee.  With  my  umbrella  and  the  sail  1  managed 
pretty  well  to  keep  off  the  waters  from  above  ;  it  was 
the  streams  below  that  caused  us  trouble.  However, 
as  there  is  an  end  to  the  longest  lane,  so  there  is  to 
the  greatest  tropical  shower  and  most  unpleasant 
night  With  the  break  of  day  came  fine  weather. 
The  sun  rose  in  a  clear  sky,  and  everything  looked 
peaceful  and  bright,  as  if  there  had  been  no  disturb- 
ing element  during  the  night.  Nature  smiled,  and 
so  did  we.  The  Saibaians  returned  in  their  canoes 
to  their  homes,  and  we  proceeded  eastward  to  the 
Katau  River,  which  we  reached  at  sunset. 

On  the  following  morning  we  started  for  an  inland 
town  of  which  I  had  heard  a  good  deal,  and  where  I  was 
anxious  to  place  a  teacher.  We  could  scarcely  have 
been  more  unfortunate  in  the  day,  as  there  had  just 
been  a  thunderstorm,  and,  for  three  hours  before  we 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND   NOW.  171 

started,  the  rain  fell  in  torrents.  However  the  jour- 
ney was  on  my  programme,  and  I  saw  no  sufficient 
reason  for  crossing  it  out.  It  may  interest  some  to 
know  that  this  is  the  point  whence  the  mythical 
"  Captain  Lawson  "  commenced  his  wonderful  travels 
in  New  Guinea  !  Our  party  consisted  of  about  twenty, 
with  Maino's  son  as  guide  and  interpreter.  We  were 
prepared  to  walk,  wade,  or  swim.  There  was  not  much 
to  be  feared  from  the  people,  except  that  they  would 
run  away  on  our  approach,  a  thing  which  we  endea- 
voured to  prevent  by  sending  a  messenger  ahead. 

Just  before  we  started  a  large  alligator  was  seen 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  about  200  yards  off. 
The  monster  had  about  half  his  body  out  of  the  water, 
nibbling  away  at  something  on  the  bank.  A  rifle 
bullet  struck  him  on  the  head,  causing  him  to  spring 
up  and  fall  backwards  into  the  river.  This  reminds 
me  of  the  first  alligator  we  saw  when  the  Elkngowan 
anchored  at  Port  Spicer.  We  had  just  arrived,  and 
were  admiring  the  harbour,  with  its  banks  of  stemless 
palms,  when  we  saw  a  large  alligator  drifting  down 
the  middle  of  the  harbour  with  the  tide,  with  his  head 
half  out  of  the  water.  A  shot  was  fired  at  him,  the 
bullet  entering  the  water  close  to  his  head  ;  he  ducked, 
and  when  opposite  the  vessel  raised  just  his  eye  above 
the  water  for  a  few  seconds  to  take  a  good  survey  of 
this  new  phenomenon  in  those  waters.  We  should 
like  to  have  put  a  bullet  into  it,  but  before  we  were 
ready  he  seemed  to  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
it  was  safer  below,  so  we  saw  no  more  of  him. 

Behind  the  village  of  Katau  there  is  but  a  narrow 
belt  of  mangrove,  passing  which  we  came  to  fine  open 
country  studded    with    plantations,  all   well    inclosed 


172  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

with  strong  and  close  bamboo  fences,  nearly  six  feet 
high,  to  preserve  them  from  the  numerous  wild  pigs, 
kangaroos,  and  cassowaries.  Indeed,  scarcely  had  we 
left  the  mangrove  belt  when  we  started  a  kangaroo 
on  our  track.  Hnawia,  a  handsome  young  Papuan, 
who  lived  with  his  teacher,  justified  the  opinion  that 
I  had  formed  of  his  love  of  sport,  for  no  sooner  was 
the  kangaroo  seen  than  he  bounded  after  it,  hopping 
over  the  long  wet  grass  very  much  like  the  animal 
he  was  pursuing.  We  heard  a  shot,  and  waited  for 
the  result.  He  soon  returned  "  like  a  drowned  rat," 
with  his  red  waistcloth  in  tatters,  but  without  the 
kangaroo  ;  still  he  was  smiling  and  shaking  his  head 
knowingly  at  the  narrow  escape  the  animal  had  had, 
and  seemed  to  be  explaining  to  his  friends  how  that 
the  ball  had  passed  through  the  kangaroo's  ear,  but 
that  not  being  a  vital  part  it  had  escaped. 

We  walked  about  six  miles  through  fine  country, 
in  which  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  stone.  It  is  deep, 
rich,  alluvial  soil,  covered  chiefly  with  long  grass  and 
scrub,  with  here  and  there  some  very  fine  timber. 
There  are  miles  of  plantations,  and  it  is  probable  that 
the  plains  through  which  we  passed  have  been  cleared 
by  the  natives  for  that  purpose,  for  the  bits  of  forest 
through  which  our  road  lay  are  heavily  timbered. 
There  is  abundance  of  water.  We  crossed  two  arms 
of  the  Katau  River,  over  which  the  natives  have  con- 
structed a  very  good  bamboo  bridge,  about  lOO  feet 
in  length.  In  fact,  there  is  far  too  much  water  in  this 
part  of  New  Guinea  ;  but  if  the  land  were  drained 
by  digging  trenches,  as  it  is  near  the  native  villages, 
I  have  no  doubt  that  it  would  be  considered  amongst 
the  best  of  sugar-growing  land.     The  wild  nutmeg 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND   NOIV.  173 

seems  to  indicate  that  spices  that  have  failed  in  Singa- 
pore might  flourish  here. 

When  within  about  two  miles  of  the  town  we 
began  to  meet  natives  of  the  place,  and  from  that  to 
our  destination  the  number  increased.  The  last  mile 
was  the  worst  part  of  the  road,  being  through  a  swamp. 
It  appears  that  the  people  used  to  live  on  the  oppo- 
site side,  but  being  exposed  to  attacks  from  the  coast 
tribes,  they  removed  their  houses  to  the  place  where 
the  town  now  stands.  There  was  a  crowd  awaiting 
our  arrival  at  the  entrance  to  the  town,  but  the  moment 
they  caught  sight  of  me  they  fled  in  all  directions. 
We  were  received  by  two  chiefs  and  principal  people 
in  an  open  space  surrounded  by  houses,  and  some 
cocoanuts  and  bananas  were  placed  before  us.  I  made 
them  a  small  present,  and  explained  the  object  of  my 
visit.  I  told  them  that  we  were  men  of  peace,  and 
that  I  had  come  to  place  a  teacher  amongst  them  to 
tell  them  about  the  true  God  and  good  things  ;  that 
their  enemies  had  received  teachers,  and  therefore 
they  need  not  fear  any  more  attacks  from  them  ;  that 
we  wished  them  all  to  live  in  peace  and  learn  the 
gospel  of  peace,  which  the  teacher  had  come  to  pro- 
claim. They  not  only  expressed  their  willingness  to 
receive  a  teacher,  but  proposed  to  return  to  the  site 
of  their  former  settlement  and  live  there  with  him, 
which  is  nearer  the  planting  ground.  I  expressed  my 
delight  at  this  suggestion,  as  it  will  place  their  town- 
ship two  miles  nearer  Katau,  and  avoid  the  necessity 
of  crossing  that  disagreeable  swamp  to  reach  it. 

During  our  meeting  groups  of  women  and  children 
were  peering  at  us  through  the  trees  and  from  behind 
the  houses,  and  when  we  walked  through  the  town 


174  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

(for  a  town  I  may  call  it,  having  counted  eighty-five 
houses,  some  of  which  were  sixty  feet  long  by  twenty- 
four  feet  broad),  men,  women,  and  children  stood  at  the 
corners  of  the  streets  and  peeped  at  us  from  behind 
the  houses,  uttering  exclamations  of  wonder.  Few, 
if  any  of  them,  had  seen  a  white  man  before,  and  they 
were  quite  amazed  at  my  size,  they  being  a  diminu- 
tive race.  When  we  stood  for  a  few  minutes  I  was 
immediately  surrounded  by  a  group  of  admiring  and 
wondering  spectators,  who  seemed  to  measure  me  with 
their  eyes  from  my  feet  upwards,  and  then  exclaim  ; 
but  none  had  the  courage  to  come  near  enough  to 
touch  me.  I  was  thus  saved  from  the  disagreeable 
handling  which  I  have  been  accustomed  to  receive  on 
the  coast  and  south-east  peninsula.  The  moment  I 
moved,  the  women  and  children  fled  in  all  directions 
in  apparent  terror.  They  are  an  inferior  race  to 
the  coast  tribes,  and  speak  quite  a  different  language. 
They  are,  as  a  rule,  short,  thin,  and  dirty ;  live  in  inferior 
houses,  which  are  built,  not  as  the  coast  tribes,  on  posts, 
but  on  the  ground,  and  more  like  sheds,  the  sides  being 
of  bark  and  bamboos,  thatched  with  the  usual  pan- 
danus  leaves.  The  interior  of  their  houses,  like  their 
persons,  are  filthy.  The  trophies  of  the  chase  hang 
about  in  all  directions  in  the  shape  of  bones  of  the 
wild  pig,  cassowary,  and  kangaroo.  I  did  not  see  any 
skulls.  I  suppose  it  is  the  skulls  of  these  inland  tribes 
that  chiefly  adorn  the  houses  of  the  coast  people. 

When  we  returned  a  large  party  accompanied  us 
for  a  couple  of  miles  to  the  place  where  they  propose 
forming  their  new  township.  A  very  suitable  place  it 
is.  There  is  a  grove  of  cocoanut  trees,  and  plenty  of 
splendid  timber  and  bamboos   for  house   and  fence 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND  NOW.  175 

building  close  by,  and  being  near  an  arm  of  the  Katau 
River,  there  is  plenty  of  good  water,  which  they  all 
greatly  need.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  settlement 
of  a  teacher  amongst  them  will  be  the  beginning  of 
brighter  days  for  them.  On  our  return  we  were  tired, 
wet,  and  hungry.  I  should  like  to  have  plunged  into 
the  river,  but  knew  there  were  too  many  alligators 
about,  so  I  had  several  bucketfuls  of  water  poured 
over  me  ;  and  then,  after  a  good  meal  and  a  good 
sleep,  was  prepared  for  our  next  day's  journey,  which 
was  to  another  inland  tribe  in  the  opposite  direction, 
at  a  village  situated  twelve  miles  up  the  Katau  River, 
behind  Tureture. 

We  arranged  to  make  this  trip  in  a  canoe  and  the 
little  dingy  that  we  carry  on  the  deck  of  the  Venture. 
We  started  after  breakfast  with  a  flood  tide,  the  dingy 
being  towed  by  the  canoe,  which  was  propelled  by 
six  strong  men  with  large  paddles.  I  had  been  a  few 
miles  up  this  river  before  many  years  ago,  and, 
remembering  its  beauty,  was  anticipating  a  very  en- 
joyable trip,  in  which  I  was  not  disappointed.  The 
pleasure  was  very  much  increased,  of  course,  by  the 
fact  that  we  are  now  known  to  the  natives  and  are 
regarded  b}-  them  as  their  friends,  and  that  I  was  going 
to  form  a  mission  station  in  the  interior.  Fancy  me 
in  a  pyjama  suit  and  big  straw  hat,  sitting  in  state  in 
the  dingy,  with  a  box  of  sardines  and  a  few  biscuits 
and  a  couple  of  cocoanuts  in  the  stern,  my  fowling- 
piece  between  my  knees,  gliding  along  this  beautiful 
winding  river,  admiring  the  rich,  dense,  and  endless 
variety  of  its  tropical  foliage,  the  graceful  creepers 
trailing  in  the  stream,  the  huge  vines  encircling  the 
trees  like  great  boa-constrictors,  stemless  palms,  mag- 


176  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

nificent  tree-ferns,  immense  bamboos,  large  cane,  and 
tall  trees,  the  home  of  beautiful  birds.  Whenever  one 
was  seen  paddles  and  tongues  were  still,  and  we 
glided  on  with  the  tide  to  get  within  range.  In  this 
however  we  did  not  succeed  so  often  as  we  wished. 
I  shot  in  this  way  a  beautiful  bird  about  the  size  of  a 
large  pigeon.  It  had  a  long  beak,  white  breast,  red- 
dish back,  and  wings  the  colour  of  the  paradisea  rig- 
giana,  and  a  black  head,  on  the  crown  of  which  were 
three  fine  white  feathers  about  ten  inches  long. 

For  the  first  six  miles  there  are  mud  and  mangrove, 
the  land  seems  low.  After  that  the  banks  become 
higher,  plantations  appear,  and  natives  at  work  on 
them.  These  were  all  friendly,  knowing  whom  we 
were.  We  had  the  same  interpreter  as  the  day  before, 
these  inland  tribes  speaking  the  same  language.  As 
we  passed  along,  a  place  on  the  bank  was  pointed  out 
where  a  native  woman  had  recently  been  caught  by 
an  alligator.  She  was  going  down  to  drink  when  the 
alligator  suddenly  caught  her  and  dragged  her  under 
in  the  sight  of  her  friends,  who  saw  no  more  of  her. 
After  a  three  hours'  hard  pull  we  tied  our  canoe  to  a 
tree  and  walked  two  miles  through  splendid  country, 
on  the  banks  of  the  river  to  the  village.  The  people 
and  houses  were  much  the  same  as  those  visited  the 
day  before,  although  fewer  in  number.  There  are 
several  other  villages  near  which  I  had  not  time  to 
visit,  as  we  wished  to  get  back  before  sunset.  The 
teacher  and  chief  from  Tureture  walked  inland  and 
met  us  at  this  point.  We  were  well  received  by  the 
natives,  who  were  expecting  us,  and  who  gladly  ac- 
cepted a  teacher,  promising  to  build  him  a  house  at 
once.     He  will  leave  his  wife  at  Tureture  for  a  time 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND  NOW,  177 

There  were  considerable  excitement,  wonder,  and 
fear  manifested  by  the  natives  at  the  village,  as  at  the 
one  we  visited  the  day  before.  Being  small  men, 
they  were  very  much  astonished  at  my  height.  I 
was  much  amused  when  we  were  walking  back  to  the 
boat  by  one  of  our  escort  immediately  in  front  of  me, 
who  seemed  much  concerned  about  the  safety  of  my 
head  amongst  the  branches  of  the  trees  as  we  passed 
along.  Sometimes  he  would  stop  under  a  branch 
that  I  could  scarcely  touch  with  my  outstretched  arm, 
and  looking  and  pointing  upwards,  would  tell  me  to 
take  care  of  my  head  !  When  we  reached  the  canoe 
and  dingey  we  found  that  the  tide  had  not  yet  turned, 
so  we  had  some  refreshment  before  starting,  which 
proved  intensely  interesting  to  the  natives.  When 
the  tin  of  sardines  was  opened  there  was  a  great 
shout.  Fish  are  scarce  in  the  bush.  They  had  pro- 
bably never  seen  so  many  at  one  time  before — 
certainly  not  in  so  small  a  compass,  and  as  each 
sardine  disappeared — all  but  the  tail — there  was  an 
exclamation.  They  stood  around  and  peered  at  us 
from  all  sides.  When  we  gave  them  a  biscuit  they 
smelt  it,  tasted  it,  and  then  passed  it  on.  Not  so 
those  who  had  accompanied  us  from  Katau.  It  was 
amusing  to  see  them  laughing  at  the  ignorance  and 
simplicity  of  their  bush  friends,  they  themselves 
being  but  a  step  in  advance.  We  returned  delighted 
with  our  visit,  reaching  the  mouth  of  the  river  at 
sunset. 

A  thickly  wooded  island,  about  a  mile  in  circum- 
ference, is  situated  at  the  entrance  to  the  river,  which 
forms  a  very  safe  and  pretty  little  harbour  for  small 
vessels.     This  is  now  the  port  for  four  of  our  mission 


178  AMONG    THE    CANNIBALS. 

Stations.  From  Port  Spicer,  in  the  Fly  River,  we 
reach  five  others,  and  from  Saibai,  three  more.  We 
have  now  twelve  mission  stations  in  that  part  of  New 
Guinea,  including  Saibai  and  Dauan,  where  the  mission 
was  commenced,  which  are  close  to  the  mainland,  and 
have  been  used  as  stepping  stones  to  it.  Three  of 
the  most  central  stations  are  occupied  by  Lifu  teachers, 
the  rest  by  the  young  men  with  whom  I  commenced 
the  Papuan  Institute.  I  have  been  anxious  to  secure 
these  different  points  simultaneously,  so  as  to  prevent 
jealousies  and  war.  It  depends  upon  the  villages 
now  occupied  by  our  teachers  whether  there  shall  be 
war  or  peace  in  this  part  of  New  Guinea,  and  there 
is  every  prospect  of  the  latter  now  that  the  mission 
stations  are  established.  These  skull-hunters  will,  we 
trust — by  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the  teaching  of 
these  simple,  earnest,  good  men — learn  war  no  more. 

We  commenced  our  return  voyage  from  Katau, 
intending  to  call  at  our  newly  formed  station,  Ugar, 
in  Torres  Straits,  on  our  way  ;  but  this  proved  by  far 
the  most  formidable,  unpleasant,  and  dangerous  part 
of  our  voyage.  It  was  a  dead  beat  to  windward,  and 
the  weather,  which  had  been  so  calm  that  we  had 
often  to  pull  the  Venture  with  oars,  became,  after  our 
first  day  out,  very  boisterous.  During  the  first  day 
and  night  we  beat  up  from  Katau,  through  Mis- 
sionary Pass,  and  by  the  following  night  reached 
Ugar,  after  a  very  rough,  wet,  and  altogether  disagree- 
able passage.  In  the  morning  I  had  a  long  pull  over 
the  reef  in  the  dingey,  and  was  received  on  the  beach 
by  the  teacher,  Papi,  and  the  chief  and  people.  The 
teacher's  house  is  finished,  and  they  are  about  to 
commence   their   church.      They   are   a   small    com- 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND  NOW.  179 

munity  of  superior  natives,  living  on  one  of  the  most 
fertile  islands  in  Torres  Straits,  and  appear  very  happy 
with  their  teacher,  who  is  a  quiet,  good  man,  adapted 
to  the  place. 

Starting  with  the  tide,  we  hoped  to  reach  Darnley 
before  dark,  but  were  doomed  to  bitter  disappoint- 
ment, not  arriving  till  noon  next  day.  In  all  my 
experience  of  boating,  and  few  missionaries  have  had 
more,  I  never  spent  such  a  night  at  sea,  and  I  hope  I 
may  never  spend  another  like  it.  When  within  about 
six  miles  of  Darnley,  it  began  to  blow  and  rain  in 
true  tropical  style.  The  squalls  were  very  heavy,  and 
unfortunately  we  were  in  the  "  big  ship  channel," 
through  Torres  Straits,  to  the  north  of  Darnley,  with 
the  heavy  seas  from  the  gulf  rolling  in  upon  us  past 
Bramble  Cay.  We  reefed  our  sails  with  difficulty, 
and  tried  to  make  headway.  Tack  after  tack,  but  no 
nearer  the  land.  The  sun  went  down,  and  left  us  to 
battle  with  the  elements  in  the  dark.  No  one  but 
those  who  know  something  of  boating  can  form  any- 
thing like  an  adequate  idea  of  our  position.  Fifteen 
of  us  in  a  boat  thirty  feet  long  by  eight  feet  broad,  with 
a  cargo  of  sago  in  the  hold  and  a  dingey  on  deck  !  To 
watch  the  waves  on  a  dark,  stormy  night  from  the 
deck  of  a  large  vessel,  with  a  feeling  of  security  and 
a  comfortable  cabin  below,  is  a  very  different  thing 
from  sitting  on  the  deck  of  the  Venture,  holding  on  to 
the  rigging  amidst  blinding  rain  and  spray  and  a 
howling  wind ;  not  looking  down  upon  the  great  black, 
white-crested  waves  as  they  go  hissing  past  on  a  dark 
night,  but  really  looking  up  at  them,  and  that  in 
no  very  poetical  mood,  especially  as  they  frequently 
break  over  our  little  craft.  My  great  fear  was  lest 
13 


i8o  AMONG    THE   CANNIBALS. 

considering  the  great  strain  upon  the  masts,  rigging, 
sheets,  etc.,  something  should  carry  away.  Slowly, 
wearily,  most  anxiously  the  night  wore  on.  Never 
did  I  long  so  much  for  daybreak.  We  were  wet  and 
cold  and  hungry,  and  had  not  been  able  to  make  a  fire 
for  twenty-four  hours.  It  came  at  last,  but  slowly, 
as  any  other  morning,  notwithstanding  our  anxiety. 
Finding  ourselves  near  a  sandbank,  we  made  for  it, 
anchored  our  boat  to  leeward,  took  some  firewood  and 
water  on  shore,  and  made  some  tea ;  then  shot  and 
cooked  a  dozen  birds,  and,  after  a  good  meal,  started 
for  Darnley,  which  we  reached  in  a  few  hours. 

There  we  spent  a  day  and  night  to  recruit.  I  need 
hardly  say  how  thankful  we  were  to  reach  this  point 
in  safety.  Thence  to  Murray  Island  we  were  amongst 
known  reefs,  on  and  behind  which  we  could  anchor, 
and,  if  anything  happened,  fall  back  upon  Darnley. 
We  used  to  think  the  passage  between  Darnley  and 
Murray  very  intricate  and  dangerous,  as  most  stran- 
gers do,  but  there  are  really  two  good  passages  for 
large  vessels.  Boats  like  the  Venture  find  the  reefs 
very  convenient.  We  anchored  on  one  for  the  night, 
the  sea  being  quite  smooth,  although  there  was  a 
good  breeze.  We  thought  it  would  be  deep  enough 
to  keep  us  afloat  at  low  water,  but  at  midnight  we 
were  aroused  by  the  vessel  bumping.  Our  business 
was  to  see  that  she  did  not  settle  down  on  any  stones. 
A  native  jumped  overboard  and  removed  them  all 
around  our  craft,  and  having  made  her  bed,  we  all 
went  to  sleep.     Next  day  we  reached  Murray  Island. 

The  next  and  most  important  extension  in  the 
western  branch  of  the  mission  was  the  establishment 
of  mission  stations  in  the  Fly  River,  an  event  which 


PORT  SPICER,   ON   THE   FLY    RIVER. 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND  NOW.  iSi 

will  long  be  remembered  by  those  who  took  part  in 
it  There  was  not  much  danger  or  difficulty  in  estab- 
lishing the  missions  to  which  I  have  just  referred, 
owing  to  our  being  well  known  at  Katau  and  Ture- 
ture.  In  the  Fly  River  however  the  case  was  very 
different  Amongst  these  hostile  and  warlike  tribes 
it  was  necessary  to  move  cautiously.  Here  I  followed 
the  same  plan  as  the  one  adopted  both  in  Torres 
Straits  and  China  Straits,  the  western  and  eastern 
branches  of  our  mission  ;  viz.  to  commence  at  some 
central  and  neutral  point,  and  proclaim  ourselves  the 
friends  of  all.  We  found  just  such  a  place  on  an 
island  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  opposite  the  town 
of  Kiwai,  which,  with  the  other  islands,  forms  a  fine 
harbour  of  the  shape  of  a  T,  with  three  ways  of  getting 
in  and  out,  and  splendid  anchorage  in  the  stem  of  the 
T  at  all  seasons,  smooth  as  a  mill-pond,  and  six 
fathoms  deep  to  within  a  few  yards  of  the  beach. 
The  mouths  of  the  Fly  River  being  exposed  to  the 
strong  south-east  trade  wind  and  the  heavy  seas  rolling 
up  the  Papuan  Gulf,  and  this  being  the  only  good 
anchorage  near  the  principal  mouth  of  this  great  river, 
it  is  likely  to  become  of  considerable  commercial 
importance  in  developing  the  resources  of  the  interior 
of  the  island ;  we  have  therefore  named  it  Port  Spicer, 
after  an  honoured  family,  whose  name  has  become  a 
household  word  in  connection  with  Christian  missions 
and  philanthropic  work. 

Here  we  erected  the  house  which  had  been  con- 
structed at  the  industrial  school  in  connection  with 
our  Papuan  Institute,  the  Ellengowan  remaining  at 
anchor  in  the  port  whilst  the  work  was  being  done, 
the  captain   and    crew,  in    the   meantime,   rendering 


i82  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

good  service.  In  five  days  the  house  was  put  up,  and 
on  a  flag-staff  at  each  end  might  be  seen  waving  the 
dove  and  olive  branch  and  the  union  jack — the  flags 
of  our  society  and  our  country.  As  at  Samarai 
in  China  Straits,  so  at  Mibu  in  the  Fly  River,  the 
tribes  came  from  both  sides  to  the  mission  station, 
and  thus  enabled  us  to  form  their  acquaintance  and 
gain  their  confidence.  We  visited  both  districts, 
and,  after  becoming  well  known  as  the  friends  of 
all,  moved  our  station  to  the  town  of  Kiwai,  at  the 
request  of  the  people.  We  were  anxious  to  get  a 
footing  at  this  place,  as  the  Kiwai  warriors  are  nume- 
rous and  powerful,  and  the  terror  of  the  surrounding 
district ;  so  that  we  gladly  availed  ourselves  of  the 
opportunity,  although  we  felt  that  the  invitation  was 
not  given  from  any  desire  to  listen  to  the  gospel  of 
peace  and  love  that  we  had  to  preach.  It  was  these 
Kiwaians  who  went  to  attack  the  boats  of  H.M.S. 
Fly,  when  they  were  entering  this  great  river,  which 
they  named  after  their  ship.  And  these  were  the 
savages  who  murdered  a  shipwrecked  crew  of  twenty- 
three,  a  short  time  before  we  commenced  our  mission 
amongst  them.  They  gave  us  a  good  deal  of  trouble 
and  anxiety  for  several  years.  On  one  occasion  they 
arranged  to  murder  our  teachers  to  supply  animal 
food  at  a  great  feast  time,  and  the  teachers  only 
saved  their  lives  by  escaping  in  the  night.  I  managed 
some  time  afterwards  to  re-establish  the  mission.  On 
another  occasion  they  surrounded  and  seized  my  boat, 
and  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that  we  succeeded  in 
getting  away.  Now  the  mission  is  firmly  established, 
and  the  good  work  progressing  most  encouragingly. 
Of  late  years  we  have  used   Kiwai   as  our  central 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND  NO IV.  183 

station  in  the  Fly  River.  The  farthest  point  at 
which  we  have  formed  a  mission  station  is  at  Sumaiut, 
a  large  village  about  thirty  miles  higher  up  the  river, 
to  which  we  conducted  the  geographical  expedition 
of  Australia  when  they  visited  the  Fly  River,  and 
where,  on  my  first  visit,  we  found  a  party  in  the 
village,  led  by  the  medicine-man,  strongly  opposed  to 
us.  Ultimately  arrows  were  shot  to  disperse  us,  one 
of  which  stuck  in  a  cocoanut  tree  just  over  my  head. 
Our  interpreter,  an  old  chief  from  Bampton  Island,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river,  hearing  what  was  going  on, 
quietly  slipped  into  his  canoe  and  got  away  in  the 
midst  of  the  excitement,  without  our  missing  him, 
until  we  required  his  services.  Under  these  circum- 
stances we  too  thought  it  wise  to  slip  away  to  our  boat 
in  the  most  quiet  and  expeditious  manner  possible. 
Considering  the  character  of  the  tribes  that  we  have 
visited,  and  amongst  whom  we  have  established 
missions,  the  marvel  is  that,  during  our  pioneer  work, 
we  have  never  come  into  collision  with  the  natives 
where  there  has  been  blood  shed  ;  and  that  is  some- 
what surprising  when  we  remember  that  in  many,  I 
may  say  almost  all,  districts  a  stranger  is  regarded  as 
an  enemy  to  be  killed,  and,  amongst  the  cannibals,  to 
be  cooked  and  eaten.  We  have  abundant  reason  to 
feel  that  in  our  New  Guinea  Mission  we  have  been 
'under  Divine  guidance  and  Divine  protection,  and 
results  show  that  we  have  had  the  Divine  blessing. 

In  the  western  branch  of  our  mission  we  have 
formed  three  churches  at  different  points  for  the  sur- 
rounding districts.  One  at  Murray  Island,  one  at 
Mabuiag,  and  one  at  Saibai ;  these  contain  an  aggre- 
gate of  over  400  members.     At  all  these  places  the 


i84  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

whole  population  have  embraced  Christianity,  and 
are  to  be  seen  respectably  clothed  in  European  gar- 
ments, or  rather  in  neat  garments  made  of  European 
material.  When  the  natives  renounce  idolatry  and 
embrace  Christianity,  the  outward  sign  of  that  change 
is  clothing.  The  very  name  for  embracing  Chris- 
tianity amongst  most  tribes  is  the  word  for  fastening 
on  the  loin  cloth.  Many  natives  attend  our  churches 
who  have  not  yet  adopted  clothing,  just  as  worldly 
people  attend  church  in  this  country ;  but  as  soon  as 
they  become  seriously  affected  by  the  gospel,  and  are 
led  to  abandon  idolatry,  they  adopt  clothing  of  some 
kind.  In  connection  with  these  churches  we  have 
good  schools,  attended  by  nearly  all  the  young  people 
of  the  place,  and  a  good  many  of  the  old  ones  too,  all 
being  anxious  to  learn  to  read.  In  this  district  they 
are  now  paying  for  their  books,  and  making  a  hand- 
some annual  contribution  to  the  parent  society.  Two 
years  before  I  left  we  felt  that  the  time  had  arrived 
to  commence  "  May  meetings "  amongst  them,  and 
so  teach  them  that  those  who  receive  the  gospel  are 
to  hand  it  on  to  the  heathen  beyond.  At  our  first 
May  meeting  the  people  of  this  district  contributed 
i^45  8j-.,  and  at  the  meeting  before  I  left  the  collec- 
tion amounted  to  £6/\  \os. — a  very  tangible  proof  of 
their  appreciation  of  the  gospel,  and  their  desire  for 
other  heathen  tribes  to  receive  this  good  news. 

In  our  mission  work  in  New  Guinea  we  have  had 
to  contend  with  difficulties  quite  peculiar  to  the  place. 
We  have  had  to  sail  in  unknown  and  dangerous 
waters  in  order  to  reach  the  natives.  We  have  had 
to  contend  with  savages  and  cannibals,  who  regard 
strangers  generally  as  enemies  to  be  killed,  cooked,  and 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND  NOW.  185 

eaten.  We  have  had  to  pass  through  sickly  swamps 
and  be  exposed  to  deadly  fevers  in  planting  and 
superintending  our  mission  stations.  We  have  had 
to  reduce  the  languages  to  writing,  and  translate  por- 
tions of  the  Scriptures,  school  books,  and  hymn-books 
into  them.  We  have  had  to  battle  with  the  evil  in- 
fluences of  abandoned  sailors,  although  we  have  been 
helped  rather  than  otherwise  by  many  of  the  visitors 
and  travellers  who  have  come  to  New  Guinea.  We 
have  had  to  guide  the  natives  in  making  and  admi- 
nistering laws,  in  developing  the  resources  of  their 
country,  in  building  houses,  making  roads,  and,  in 
fact,  in  everything  connected  with  their  material  as 
well  as  their  spiritual  progress.  It  is  therefore  some 
encouragement  to  feel  that  we  have  opened  up  about 
six  hundred  miles  of  coast  line,  gained  the  confidence 
of  the  natives,  and  established  our  sixty  mission 
stations  all  along  the  coast,  except  between  the  Fly 
River  and  Motumotu  in  the  west,  and  Aroma  and 
Orangerie  Bay  in  the  east.  We  have  formed  six 
churches,  which  contain  an  aggregate  of  between  six 
and  seven  hundred  members,  reduced  six  of  the  lan- 
guages or  dialects  to  writing,  and  translated  portions 
of  the  New  Testament,  a  school  book,  catechism,  and 
hymn-book  into  each.  We  have  two  institutions  at 
work  for  the  training  of  native  pioneer  evangelists 
and  pastors  :  the  Papuan  Institute  at  Murray  Island 
in  the  Papuan  Gulf,  containing  over  fifty  students  ; 
and  the  institution  at  Port  Moresby,  containing  ten 
or  twelve.  Twenty-five  have  been  sent  out  from  the 
former,  and  eight  from  the  latter,  as  native  pioneer 
teachers,  and  are  located  at  stations  in  the  interior,  on 
the  coast,  and  on  islands  off  the  coast,  and  are  doing 


1 86  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

excellent  Christian  work  amongst  the  people  with 
whom,  in  many  instances,  their  fathers  used  to 
fight. 

Upon  these  and  similar  institutions  must  depend 
the  evangelization  of  New  Guinea.  The  climate  has 
proved  fatal  to  over  a  hundred  members  of  our  mis- 
sion, European  and  Polynesian  missionaries  and  their 
wives  and  families  ;  more  than  half  the  number  who 
have  joined  our  mission  have  died  in  the  field,  thus 
clearly  indicating  that  the  native  agency  must  be 
raised  from  amongst  the  people  themselves.  This  con- 
sideration was  forced  upon  me  during  the  early  years 
of  the  mission  by  the  appalling  mortality  amongst 
our  South  Sea  Island  teachers,  and  induced  me  to 
attempt  the  formation  of  the  Papuan  Institute  ;  the 
success  of  which  led  to  a  similar  attempt  being  made, 
some  years  afterwards,  at  Port  Moresby,  where  there 
is  now  a  growing  seminary.  We  get  the  best  of  our 
young  converts  for  these  institutions  ;  and  consider- 
ing the  evil  influences  and  temptations  by  which  they 
are  surrounded  in  their  villages,  and  the  number  of 
languages  spoken  throughout  our  districts,  we  feel 
the  importance  of  removing  them  to  our  central 
stations  for  instruction,  where  they  spend  four  or  five 
years  surrounded  by  Christian  influences,  and  are 
taught  useful  arts,  as  well  as  Bible  truths,  and  learn 
to  speak  and  understand  a  little  of  the  English  lan- 
guage, which  proves  exceedingly  useful  to  them  when 
they  are  appointed  as  native  evangelists  and  pastors, 
enabling  them  often  to  arrange  difficulties  between 
traders  and  natives,  and  to  act  as  interpreters  when 
captains  of  men-of-war  and  others  visit  the  places 
where  they  are  located.     I  have  been  told  repeatedly 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND  NOW.  187 

by  officers  of  her  majesty's  ships  that  they  consider 
it  very  important  that  our  native  teachers  should  be 
able  to  speak  a  little  English.  The  hope  of  New 
Guinea  lies  in  a  good  staff  of  these  native  agents. 
With  a  few  European  missionaries  to  train  and  super- 
intend them,  these  men  will  carry  the  gospel  to  the 
very  heart  of  the  island.  It  is  an  agency  easily 
obtained,  and  will  be  increasingly  so,  as  Christianity 
and  civilization  advance.  It  is  economical ;  a  native 
teacher  only  costs  £\2  a  year.  It  is  an  agency 
that  has  proved  exceedingly  successful  in  the  South 
Sea  Islands,  and  thus  far  in  New  Guinea.  Our 
difficulty  hitherto  has  not  been  in  obtaining  native 
teachers,  but  in  getting  missionaries  who  are  able 
and  willing  to  remain  in  the  field. 

Our  New  Guinea  mission,  like  that  in  Central 
Africa,  has  proved  fatal  to  many  of  its  faithful 
labourers,  and  exceedingly  trying  to  all.  Out  of  eight 
missionaries  who  were  sent  out  from  England  to  help 
us,  only  two  remain  in  the  field.  The  Rev.  Harry 
Scott  and  his  excellent  wife,  who  joined  the  western 
branch  of  the  mission  two  years  before  I  left,  and 
from  whom  we  were  expecting  so  much,  have  been 
obliged  to  leave  on  account  of  the  fever,  and  the 
doctor  forbids  their  return.  This  is  exceedingly  un- 
fortunate, as  they  had  acquired  the  language,  and 
thrown  themselves  most  heartily  into  the  work,  for 
which  Mr.  Scott  has  many  peculiar  qualifications. 
He  rendered  most  valuable  service  during  his  con- 
nection with  the  mission,  and  my  wife  and  I  were 
delighted  to  feel  that  we  were  leaving  our  station 
in  charge  of  such  an  able  and  devoted  couple. 
The  Rev.  E.  B.  Savage  took  charge  of  the   Papuan 


1 88  AMONG    THE  CANNIBALS. 

Institute,  and  the  mission  in  the  Papuan  Gulf,  when 
Mr.  Scott  left ;  and  he  has  since  been  'delighted  to 
welcome  the  arrival  of  a  fellow-student  as  his  col- 
league— Rev.  A.  E.  Hunt,  who,  with  his  devoted, 
practical,  and  energetic  wife,  has  entered  enthusiasti- 
cally upon  the  important  work  of  training  a  native 
agency,  and  superintending  and  extending  the  work 
in  the  Papuan  Gulf 

There  are  now  six  European  missionaries  in  the  New 
Guinea  Mission.  Two  in  each  of  the  three  branches, 
each  couple  having  a  good  staff  of  native  teachers, 
numbering  altogether  about  eighty.  Two  very  pro- 
mising young  men  from  Cheshunt  College  are  about 
to  join  the  missionary  band  there  ;  so  that  with  such 
a  European  staff,  and  a  native  agency  growing  up  from 
amongst  the  people  themselves,  we  have  reason  to 
believe  that  this  largest,  darkest,  and  most  neglected 
island  in  the  world  will  soon  have  proclaimed  through 
its  length  and  breadth  the  gospel  of  peace^  and  liglit^ 
and  love^  and  life  eternal. 

In  conclusion,  I  call  the  attention  of  the  Christian 
Church  to  the  New  Guinea  Mission  as  another  proof 
of  the  transforming  power  of  the  gospel,  calculated 
to  create  and  stimulate  the  missionary  spirit.  Let 
the  present  appearance  and  condition  of  some  of  the 
towns  and  villages  where  we  have  mission  stations  be 
compared  with  what  they  were  fifteen  years  ago,  and 
the  difference  is  truly  wonderful.  Instead  of  the  war 
song,  the  cannibal  feast,  and  the  night  dance,  churches 
and  schools  and  family  worship  are  established. 
Instead  of  the  wild-looking  appearance  of  the  people, 
dressed  in  feathers  and  shells  and  paint,  they  are 
now  respectably  clothed,  and  ashamed  of  their  former 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND  NOW.  189 

appearance  and  habits.  Instead  of  dirty  huts,  lazy 
and  cruel  husbands,  and  neglected  children,  there  are 
now  well-built  houses,  industrious  and  kind  husbands, 
and  bright  and  intelligent  children.  Instead  of  every 
man  doing  as  he  liked,  which  led  to  village  quarrels, 
plunder,  and  war,  there  are  now  laws  established, 
magistrates  and  policemen  appointed,  and  law  and 
order  prevail. 

This,  of  course,  can  only  be  said  of  some  of  our 
mission  stations,  and  our  mission  embraces  but  a  very 
small  portion  of  the  island.  Like  the  heathen  world, 
this  great  country  has  only,  as  yet,  been  touched 
by  Christianity  ;  but  wherever  it  has  been  touched, 
it  has  been  changed.  Christianity  never  fails,  al- 
though its  preachers  and  professors  sometimes  do. 
Wherever  the  gospel  seed  is  planted  in  harmony  with 
the  Divine  conditions,  prayer  and  faith,  it  is  sure  to 
grow.  It  must  be  so,  for  the  growth  is  the  work  of 
God,  and  He  never  fails  to  perform  His  part  in  the 
missionary  work  of  leading  the  world  to  its  Saviour. 

A  change  is  taking  place  in  New  Guinea  as  mar- 
vellous and  as  rapid  as  that  which  transformed  the 
natives  of  the  South  Sea  Islands.  Instead  of  heathen- 
ism and  cannibalism,  there  is  springing  up  a  growing 
education  and  a  thriving  trade.  Side  by  side  with 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel  goes  the  social  improve- 
ment of  the  natives.  Better  roads  are  made ;  better 
houses  are  built,  which  are  soon  furnished  with  the 
useful  appliances  of  civilized  life  ;  and  whilst  the 
missionary  is  forming  Christian  churches,  his  wife  is 
forming  (what  is  equally  important)  Christian  homes. 
It  must  not  be  supposed  that  unmarried  missionaries, 
male  or  female,  could  possibly  have  accomplished  the 


igo  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS, 

good  which  may  now  be  witnessed.  Christian  prin- 
ciples have  been  exemplified  in  family  life  before  the 
heathen  with  the  happiest  results.  In  the  South  Sea 
Islands  there  are  multitudes  of  homes  which  are 
centres  of  refinement,  culture,  happiness,  and  intelli- 
gence, presided  over  by  woman,  officiating  in  those 
offices  recognised  as  her  sphere  of  duty.  In  these 
abodes  it  is  no  mockery  now  to  sing  "  Home,  Sweet 
Home." 

My  hope  and  prayer  is,  that  the  story  of  the  New 
Guinea  Mission,  which  I  now  bring  to  a  close,  may  be 
the  means,  not  only  of  strengthening  the  faith  and 
quickening  the  zeal  of  those  who  are  interested  in 
Christian  missions,  but  also  of  leading  the  sceptical 
to  reconsider  their  views  on  the  question,  in  order  that 
the  Church,  in  all  its  branches,  may  take  a  new 
departure,  and  make  a  great,  united,  and  determined 
effort  to  carry  out  the  instructions  of  oi^r  Lord,  who 
has  commanded  us  to  PREACH  THE  GOSPEL  TO 
EVERY  CREATURE.  In  this,  the  greatest  and  grand- 
est of  all  reforms,  we  are  sustained  by  numerous 
promises,  and  ought  to  be  impelled  by  every  feeling 
of  humanity  and  a  strong  sense  of  duty.  We  are  cer- 
tainly encouraged  by  the  most  remarkable  success. 

The  history  of  missions  during  the  last  century  has 
proved  the  adaptability  of  the  gospel  to  all  races, 
classes,  and  conditions  of  men.  It  has  met  and  sub- 
dued every  form  of  evil,  mitigated  every  species  of 
suffering,  substituted  in  many  places  the  revelation 
of  God  for  the  lies  of  heathenism,  and  the  morality 
of  the  gospel  for  the  vices  of  idolatry.  It  has  rescued 
women  from  a  degrading  servitude,  and  children  from 
an  early  death.     It  has  substituted  order  for  anarchy, 


RESULTS:    THEN  AND   NOW,  191 

law  for  despotism,  benevolence  for  cruelty,  and  justice 
for  oppression.  It  has  elevated  tribes  and  nations, 
and  given  them  a  knowledge  of  our  literature  and 
laws,  our  arts  and  institutions.  It  has  made  property 
secure  and  industry  profitable,  and  created  content- 
ment and  domestic  affection  where  vice  and  discord 
made  existence  a  curse.  It  has  given  children  the 
blessing  of  paternal  care,  and  parents  the  joy  of  filial 
gratitude.  It  has  indeed  turned  men  from  darkness 
to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  to  God,  teach- 
ing them  how  to  live  and  how  to  die,  fitting  them 
for  the  duties  of  this  life,  and  preparing  them  for  the 
life  to  come. 

Considering  what  Christianity  has  done  and  is  still 
doing  for  heathen  nations,  the  marvel  is  that  more  of 
the  wealth  and  talent  of  the  Church  are  not  devoted  to 
this  glorious  enterprise.  The  time  for  speculation  and 
discussion  on  the  question  has  gone.  The  success  of 
missions  is  their  defence  and  their  appeal.  Who  that 
is  interested  in  the  welfare  and  progress  of  his  fellow 
men,  of  whatever  creed  or  nation,  would,  if  he  could, 
stamp  out  Christianity  and  restore  idolatry  ?  Who 
would  pull  down  the  churches  and  disband  the 
members,  or  scatter  the  week-day  and  Sunday 
schools,  or  burn  the  school  books  and  Bibles?  Or  who 
would  rebuild  the  old  temples,  rekindle  the  fires  upon 
their  altars,  call  forth  the  victims  for  sacrifice,  make 
the  hills  and  valleys  ring  with  the  shouts  of  midnight 
revellers  around  the  burning  pile  ?  And  if  all  are 
bound  to  admit  that  Christianity  has  been  a  great 
blessing  to  these  tribes,  none  can  escape  the  obligation 
to  propagate  it.  God  has  clearly  indicated  the  means 
by  which  the  world  is  to  be  saved,  and  the  millions  of 


192  AMONG   THE   CANNIBALS. 

heathen  must  remain  for  ever  ignorant  of  the  salvation 
of  Jesus,  and  perish  in  the  bHndness  of  idolatry,  un- 
less the  news  of  His  mercy  be  conveyed  to  them  by 
the  lips  of  its  living  heralds.  The  command  and  the 
promise  are  clear  and  emphatic.  "  Go  ye  therefore, 
and  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations."  "  Lo,  I  am 
with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 


THE  END. 


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